Slot warned he could be in trouble with FA for ‘clever’ comments on incident in Liverpool defeat

A former PGMOL chief executive has claimed that Arne Slot could face an investigation from the FA over comments he made after Liverpool’s defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday.

There was controversy surrounding Benjamin Sesko’s goal to double Manchester United’s lead in the 14th minute, with the ball brushing the striker’s fingertips before crossing the line. The incident was checked by VAR, although the goal was allowed to stand.

Speaking after the match, the Reds’ head coach insisted that it should’ve been disallowed (echoing Keith Hackett’s impartial verdict) and lamenting: “I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone this season that if there is a VAR intervention… then that decision goes against us. That has been the whole season.”

Slot warned he could face FA investigation

Speaking to Football Insider on Monday, ex-PGMOL chief Hackett warned Slot that the FA could take a dim view of those post-match comments if they deem it to have questioned the integrity of the officials involved.

The former top-flight referee said: “I would be surprised if the FA’s disciplinary department don’t review these comments. 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.

“I think he centred it probably more on that handball goal, of which I said, upon review, should have been disallowed.”

Slot had every right to be annoyed over the decision

As Hackett pointed out after the match, the goal should technically have been disallowed as the handball rule states that a player can’t score with their hand even if the touch is accidental, so Slot is right to be annoyed over that decision yesterday.

The Liverpool head coach pointed to the VAR for our Champions League home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain overturning a penalty for a foul on Alexis Mac Allister as the contact on him was deemed insufficient, in giving an example as to how the rules seem to be applied inconsistently.

An even more relevant example was the Argentine’s disallowed goal against Nottingham Forest in February when Ola Aina’s clearance struck his elbow and the ball went over the line. On that occasion, applying the handball rule as outlined above, it was disallowed after a VAR review.

Slot’s comments weren’t intended to suggest any bias from the officials yesterday, but rather an understandable sense of frustration at the pick-and-mix application of the rules from one game to the next, with Liverpool negatively impacted on multiple occasions.

Perhaps the FA and PGMOL ought to implement a better standard of officiating in this country, rather than throwing the book at coaches who are rightly exasperated at seeing their teams repeatedly getting the wrong end of the stick.