Ex-FIFA referee Keith Hackett has claimed that the officials got a major decision wrong in the Champions League clash between Galatasaray and Liverpool on Tuesday evening.
Galatasaray got the better of Arne Slot’s side in the league phase of the competition as they won 1-0 at RAMS Park. The Reds had the chance to avenge that defeat when they were drawn to face the Turkish giants in the last 16 of the competition.
However, Galatasaray won by the same scoreline in the first leg of their last 16 tie. Mario Lemina’s seventh minute goal proved to be the difference between the two sides as Aslanlar got the better of the reigning Premier League champions again.
Keith Hackett: Liverpool Have Every Right to Feel Aggrieved
Liverpool and Galatasaray players speak with the referee
Both sides had a goal disallowed during the match. Galatasaray thought they had made it 2-0 midway through the second half when Victor Osimhen capatalised on a mistake from Ibrahima Konate, but his strike was ruled out for offside.
Liverpool then thought they had levelled proceedings with 13 minutes remaining courtesy of Konate. However, once again, the officials ruled out the goal, with the Frenchman adjudged to have handled the ball.
Hackett, who was a FIFA referee for 10 years and also refereed in the Premier League, has now claimed that the officials made the wrong decision when disallowing Konate’s goal. Speaking to Football Insider, he said:
“It would appear that Konate was penalised for handball. Given the video clips available, I would suggest that this is a very harsh decision.
“The ball may have struck the arm of Konate. I do not see this has a deliberate action. I do not believe that Konate has made his body shape larger.
“The ball did not go directly into goal from his hand and arm in a deliberate or accidental manner.”
In a video posted on Football Insider’s X page, Hackett adds that ‘Liverpool have every right to be aggrieved.’
Mark Clattenburg Disagrees with Hackett’s Verdict
Liverpool Galatasaray
While Hackett thinks the goal was wrongly chalked off, Clattenburg, who refereed in the Premier League from 2004-2017, disagrees and claims the officials made the correct decision.
He told Rousing the Kop: “There is no doubt that Ibrahima Konate does touch the ball with his arm.
“While it’s an accidental contact, the laws are clear that the goal must be cancelled and handball should be punished if the ball goes into the goal without it being touched by a teammate.”
Liverpool and Galatasaray will meet at Anfield for their second leg on Wednesday, March 18. The tie is finely poised and both teams will fancy their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals
