Liverpool: Keith Hackett accuses Dominik Szoboszlai of cheating vs Galatasaray
Liverpool should not have been awarded a first-half penalty against Galatasaray after Dominik Szoboszlai successfully deceived the referee and VAR with a dive.
That is according to former PGMOL chief and FIFA referee Keith Hackett, who has exclusively told Football Insider that Szoboszlai went looking for the foul and Pawel Raczkowski should not have pointed to the spot.
The Hungarian midfielder looked to have been fouled by Ismail Jakobs in the 47th minute of Liverpool's 4-0 win over Galatasaray after beating him to the ball on the right side of the visitors' penalty area.
Raczkowski gave the spot kick and VAR official Marco Di Bello backed up his decision, but Gala will have felt like justice was served as Ugurcan Cakir saved Mo Salah's weak shot.
Salah still scored late on to help set up Liverpool's next Champions League match against PSG in the quarter-finals, but should not have even had the chance to score from the spot before the break.
Keith Hackett fumes as Dominik Szoboszlai slammed for 'exaggerated' dive
Szoboszlai helped Liverpool on their way to victory with a fine finish from the edge of the box in the 25th minute after being found by Alexis Mac Allister's corner.
He was one of the Reds' standout players as they cruised to a win over their Turkish opponents, but cast somewhat of a shadow over his own performance by deceiving the referee to win a penalty.
| Minutes played | 96′ |
| Goals | 1 |
| Chances created | 2 |
| Fouls won | 2 |
| Ground duels won | 5/8 |
| Aerial duels won | 2/2 |
| Passes into the final third | 13 |
| Accurate crosses | 2/3 |
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Hackett insisted that Liverpool should not have been awarded a spot kick after Szoboszlai manufactured the contact with Jacobs.
He said: "No, (it was not a penalty). The Liverpool player is clearly looking to win a penalty kick, and any contact here is doubtful.
"The action of the Liverpool player in my opinion is to manufacture contact and then follow up with an exaggerated dive."
Liverpool cannot lose Szoboszlai to Real Madrid this summer
Szoboszlai made the Reds tick against Galatasaray, as he has done so often this season even during their poor spells as a team.
Arne Slot has made him play at right-back in recent months due to injuries to Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley, but the former is now back fit, and so Szoboszlai now has to start regularly in midfield until the end of the season.
Real Madrid are tracking Szoboszlai ahead of the summer, according to Football Insider's sources, but Slot needs to build the team around him from now on, so he can not be allowed to leave at any cost.