Referees have been told to stop giving Liverpool star Mohamed Salah ‘soft penalties’ after he won another spot kick against West Ham.
The Reds’ hopes of equalling a 40-year club record of 63 games unbeaten at Anfield took an early blow on Saturday evening, as the Hammers took a surprise lead.
The injury-hampered hosts conceded inside the first ten minutes on Merseyside, with Hammers ace Pablo Fornals beating Alisson with an accurate finish in off the post.
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David Moyes’ men looked comfortable after another strong start, but the defending Premier League champions recovered from the early scare before the half-time break, with Salah firing the Reds level.
Referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot after Salah went to ground under pressure from West Ham centre-back Arthur Masuaku – which left former West Ham star Trevor Sinclair absolutely fuming.
Salah toppled to the floor after contact to the sole of his boot from Masuaku and, while VAR checked the incident, the decision was not overruled as it was not considered a clear and obvious error from the referee.
There was contact, there’s no doubt about that, but Sinclair – who insists he ‘didn’t have his claret and blue glasses on’ – feels the Egyptian went down too easily.
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It’s the first penalty West Ham have given away this season, while before the spot kick Liverpool didn’t land a single shot on target.
And, after a latest ‘soft’ decision to go the Reds star’s way, Sinclair has called for officials to be ‘stronger’ against Salah’s antics.
“It was very soft,” said Sinclair, speaking live from Anfield on talkSPORT.
“I’m surprised that Kevin Friend gave it, but even more surprised by VAR’s decision not to overturn that decision.
“For me, and I’ve not got my claret and blue glasses on here, I think Mo Salah went down too easily.
“It’s a very, very slight contract, for me, and he’s gone down very easily but, listen, Mo Salah is going to do that.
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“You’ve got to be careful when you go into those challenges… but does that warrant Mo Salah going to ground? Not for me, it’s soft, but we’ve seen it time and time again. Mo Salah will do that.
“The fact he keeps on getting these penalties, he’s going to continue to do that.
“So I think referees have got to be stronger and if there’s limited contact like that, and no reason to go down like he did, stop giving out penalties and he may stop doing that.
“But until that happens, I think Mo Salah is going to continue to go down from soft challenges.”
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