Ex-PGMOL Chief: Arne Slot Could Now Face FA Investigation After Man Utd vs Liverpool

After watching his Liverpool side lose 3-2 to Manchester United at Old Trafford, a game in which Benjamin Sesko’s controversial goal was allowed to stand after a VAR check, Arne Slot may have landed himself in hot water.

Slot used his post-match press conference to launch an attack on the state of Premier League officiating when it comes to his side’s matches. It isn’t the first time this season that he’s given similar interviews, and this one is likely to land him in hot water with the FA.

Sesko’s 14th-minute goal gave United a 2-0 lead. Replays suggested the ball had made contact with the striker’s hand before crossing the line, but VAR deemed there was no conclusive evidence to disallow the goal. For Slot, it was the latest in a long line of decisions he feels have gone against Liverpool, and yet again, he wasn’t prepared to stay quiet about it.

“That Has Been The Whole Season” — Slot’s Explosive VAR Outburst

The Dutchman discussed the Sesko goal after the Old Trafford loss, saying: “If it was a touch, which I think it is, because if you know a bit about a ball sport, you know that if a ball has a certain curve and the curve changes, there must have been contact, but it’s always light.

“Then we should have a debate in football, is that then enough to disallow a goal? But I think the rule is if there was a touch it should have been disallowed.”

He then showed his frustrations and embarked on a short rant against how his team have been officiated this season. He added:

“But I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone this season that if there is a VAR intervention, or if there is something that you could look at or could be left, could be right, then that decision goes against us. That has been the whole season.

“Every single time [it’s] the same. If I remember Paris Saint-Germain at home, getting a penalty for a soft touch on [Alexis] Mac Allister, but of course the VAR interferes and says: ‘No, no, this is not a penalty.’” Slot would then go on to compare this to a penalty decision that was upheld in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between PSG and Bayern Munich.”

Ex-PGMOL Chief Believes Slot Could be in Big Trouble

Former Premier League referee and PGMOL general manager, Keith Hackett, believes the FA’s disciplinary department will almost certainly be taking a close look at what Slot said, and that the Liverpool manager may have crossed a line.

He told Football Insider: “I would be surprised if the FA’s disciplinary department don’t review these comments,” Hackett said. “I think he’s being very clever because he’s actually global in his statement rather than individual. The governing body, the FA, has to protect its match officials from these types of comments.”

Hackett did, however, concede that Slot had a point on the Sesko decision specifically: “I think he centred it probably more on that handball goal, of which I said, upon review, should have been disallowed.”

If the FA do decide to act and feel that a ban is a suitable punishment, it would rule him out of their fixture at home to Chelsea this weekend, at the very least.

It wouldn’t be the first time Slot has been in trouble for verbally stepping out of line. Back in early 2025, he was fined £70,000 and received a two-match ban for a heated, expletive-laden exchange with Premier League referee Michael Oliver.

A second touchline ban in as many seasons would be the miserable full stop to what’s been a bitterly disappointing campaign for Slot and Liverpool.