Liverpool recorded a 3-2 win over Southampton at St Mary’s thanks to Mohamed Salah’s late penalty at St Mary’s and Saints boss Russell Martin was left disgruntled by the officials
Southampton boss Russell Martin was left infuriated by two crucial refereeing decisions during his side’s defeat to Liverpool.
Martin saw his side give up a 2-1 lead as a Mo Salah brace handed Arne Slot his 10th Premier League victory, after Dominik Szoboszlai’s strike had been cancelled out by goals from Adam Armstrong and Mateus Fernandes. The result leaves Southampton bottom of the table with only a late penalty from Liverpool’s star Egyptian denying the south coast side a point at St Mary’s.
The 38-year-old coach pinpointed his side being denied a penalty when Caoimhin Kelleher collided with Armstrong as a pivotal moment where the video assistant referee should have intervened. Martin was also left frustrated when offside was not awarded in a phase of play before Liverpool scored.
“Adam Armstrong not getting a penalty at 2-1 up, I have a big issue with that. After watching it back in slo-motion, it’s what VAR is there for,” he said. “Adam is trying to play the ball, the goalie tries to play the ball and misses it and collides with Adam – then it’s given as a handball against Adam.
“So in my opinion it’s a penalty. It’s not the reason we lose, but at 2-1 that’s a big, big moment.
“Then of course it’s subjective about Yuki [Sagawara]’s handball [for Mo Salah ‘s penalty winner], I haven’t seen it back so I have to accept that. But I have a big problem with that decision [against Armstrong].
“There’s a real, clear offside as well. We ask our guys to defend a high line from a wide free-kick, maybe a minute and 50 seconds or whatever before they score, but there’s five of their players offside and it doesn’t get given. So I’m annoyed at that, I am annoyed at that.
“I’m proud of a lot of the performance, I’m annoyed at the goals we concede and I’m disappointed we don’t get anything from the game.”
Reds boss Arne Slot was also left frustrated with the officials after Southampton were awarded a penalty after a foul that did not appear to be in the box. “In general sometimes you could have made a different decision or not, but for me with the offsides and deciding if a ball is inside or outside, that is just black and white,” he said.
“It was a foul, that was clear, so if they saw it was inside then, yes, it’s a penalty. Sometimes with a knock, yes or no, or red card, yes or no. There was also an incident in the first half where you could argue if it’s a red card, yes or no. Those things you can argue, but offside and inside or outside the 18-yard box is something you cannot argue.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
