News Update

Jurgen Klopp disagrees with penalty decision against Everton

Liverpool were denied three points as Wayne Rooney's 77th-minute spot kick cancelled out Mohamed Salah's first-half opener.

The Liverpool technical bench were incensed when referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot for Everton's penalty after Dejan Lovren clumsily bundled down Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

At his postmatch news conference, Klopp asked journalists in the Anfield press room whether they thought Pawson's decision was correct, with the majority of the room then raising their hand to signal their belief that the awarding of the penalty was correct.

"I don't think it was a penalty," Klopp said. "Obviously, we can make a test. Hands up who thinks it was a penalty.

"Oh, all penalty. Well I'm really wrong obviously. It's like it is. We have to take it.

"Obviously you all think it's a penalty then all the other challenges in midfield between Ashley Williams and Dom Solanke should have been a free kick, but weren't free kicks -- and this was a penalty.

"Calvert-Lewin makes a step in the way of Dejan Lovren, but he doesn't push him or anything. It's just body contact. That's how it was in midfield 60 or 70 times, but no free kick there.

"We have to take that. We didn't get a red card at Stoke, which we should have, so now today it was a penalty which was not a penalty."

Meanwhile, Everton boss Sam Allardyce believes Pawson was "brave" to award a penalty as he criticised Lovren's decision to make contact with Calvert-Lewin inside the 18-yard box.

"Look, don't put your hands on a forward in the box, don't mess with him, don't touch him," Allardyce told a news conference. "If you do then you run the risk of giving a penalty away.


"He [Lovren] had no need to do it, he could've just stood up, shepherding him away from goal, which is where he was going. He didn't and he put his hands on him, pushed him over. People can call it soft, but you don't do those sort of things in the box as we know.
"The credit goes to Craig Pawson being brave enough to give it when you're playing at Anfield.

"I've just had a couple of stats about [how it's been] 40 or 50 years since Everton have got a penalty [at Anfield]. It shows you how difficult it can be. But Craig Pawson was very brave in his decision."