Robinson fumes over Liverpool decision as Virgil van Dijk controversy analysed
Paul Robinson has slammed the decision to award Aleksandar Mitrovic “a soft penalty” against Liverpool on Saturday.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs and England number one said a lot can be read into Virgil van Dijk’s reaction to the incident.
Referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot after he adjudged Van Dijk to have tripped Mitrovic inside the 18-yard box.
VAR official Stuart Attwell chose not to intervene, much to the dismay of Van Dijk.
As shown on BT Sport (6 August), Mitrovic scored from the spot.
The game finished 2-2 at Craven Cottage.
When asked by Football Insider for his assessment of the penalty call, Robinson said: “Do you know what, I thought it was a soft penalty.
“I have watched it numerous times and I struggle to see where the contact was.
“You look at Van Dijk’s reaction and he was furious. Nine times out of 10 you can tell whether a player is guilty by his reaction. Van Dijk looked certain that VAR would overturn it.
“There was certainly no contact with the feet. There may have been slight contact with the knees but either way it was a soft penalty.
“In that situation the VAR official has to stick with the referees decision on the field as it was not clear. Was there enough evidence to overturn the decision on the field? Probably not.
“I was in the studio. I watched it 15 times and as much as it didn’t look like there was contact, you could not be certain that there wasn’t.”
In other news, a pundit has claimed Liverpool have learnt their lesson after Diogo Jota news is confirmed.