"It’s a penalty, you can’t do that" - Michael Owen Slams Referee’s Decision Not to Award Villa a Clear Penalty Against Liverpool

Former Liverpool star Michael Owen couldn’t believe it when referee David Coote didn’t give Aston Villa a penalty during their 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

Despite the win, which helped Liverpool stay at the top of the Premier League, there was controversy. Villa had two penalty appeals turned down during the game. The match saw goals from Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah, putting Liverpool five points clear of second-place Manchester City.

However, Villa thought they should have been given a penalty in the second half after Pau Torres was pulled down in the box by Liverpool’s Conor Bradley. Despite a quick check by VAR, the referee decided there was no foul, leaving Villa fans and even Owen frustrated.

The moment in question came just after halftime, right before Salah scored his second goal. After a free kick, Torres appeared to be dragged down by a shirt pull from Bradley. The incident was reviewed by VAR, but the referee chose not to award the penalty.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery was angry about the decision, and Michael Owen, speaking as a pundit, agreed with him. Owen was shocked the penalty wasn’t given, saying the shirt pull was so obvious.

Owen didn’t hold back when talking about the incident. He said, “It’s a penalty, you can’t do that. There’s a blatant pull. Torres is in front of the goal and gets dragged out of position with a shirt pull.”

He added that if the ball had been played elsewhere and didn’t affect the play, he could understand no penalty. But since it was clear the pull stopped Torres from being in a good position, Owen said the decision was wrong.

“I’m astonished that after VAR checked it, they didn’t give a penalty. It’s a stonewall penalty for me,” Owen said. “There’s no debate — he literally drags him out of position. Whether he does it for a second or a minute, it’s still a foul.”

Although many, including Owen, thought the penalty was clear, VAR quickly reviewed the incident and decided no foul had been committed. This left many confused about how the decision was made so fast.

Some people think VAR needs to be more consistent with decisions like this, especially when it’s such an obvious foul.

Even though Villa didn’t get the penalty, Liverpool still won the match, thanks to Salah’s second goal. However, Villa’s players, as well as their manager, felt they were cheated. The non-penalty decision was another point of frustration for them.