Would Liverpool have got 'soft' penalty in Premier League?

"The spot-kick was scored by Dominik Szoboszlai with two minutes remaining to seal a 1-0 success at the San Siro, sending the Reds up to eighth in the league phase standings. It was awarded after Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni was penalised for pulling on Florian Wirtz's shirt. Contact appeared minimal and raised questions over whether it would be given in the Premier League, but decisions are viewed differently in European competition. "The penalty did look soft, but that's given anywhere else on the pitch," Robertson told Amazon Prime."

"Many observers agreed the penalty was soft. "Did they deserve to get that penalty? Probably not, but the fans won't care," former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock said on BBC Radio 5 Live. Inter midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, speaking to Amazon Prime, added: "I don't know how they came up with a penalty that never existed, but this is football. "We are not happy. If you give a penalty like this, then every contact in the box is a penalty.""

"Wirtz went down inside the box after a small tug on his shirt by Bastoni. After a short video assistant referee (VAR) review, the referee awarded the spot-kick and Szoboszlai stepped up in Mohamed Salah's absence to fire home his second goal in successive games after netting in the 3-3 draw at Leeds. There was also another controversial incident in the first half, when Ibrahima Konate's close-range header was disallowed. Szoboszlai's corner in the 32nd minute deflected off Hugo Ekitike's arm and looped up to Konate, who nodded in. However, after a five-minute VAR check, the goal was ruled out for handball."

Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 at the San Siro courtesy of a late penalty converted by Dominik Szoboszlai, lifting the Reds to eighth in the Champions League group standings. The referee awarded the spot-kick after Alessandro Bastoni pulled Florian Wirtz's shirt, a contact described by many as minimal and prompting debate over differing VAR and officiating standards in European competition. Szoboszlai took the penalty in Mohamed Salah's absence and scored. Earlier, Ibrahima Konate had a close-range header disallowed after a five-minute VAR check ruled handball following a corner deflection off Hugo Ekitike's arm.

Read at www.bbc.com