John Giles and Liam Brady have criticised referee Anthony Taylor for his performance and decisions we've seen this season after Phil Foden's disallowed goal in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Early in the second half, Foden thought he had given Manchester City the lead, but following a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for a foul on Fabiano in the build-up.
This decision proved to be decisive, with Mohamed Salah’s finish in the 75th minute proving to be the difference between the two sides.
While it may have been the correct decision, it put VAR further under the spotlight. In those situations, referees have been encouraged to let the game flow and wait until VAR comes to a decision.
"It's very difficult to see that and say it's not a foul" 🔍
The Ref Watch panel debate whether the officials were correct to disallow Phil Foden's goal against Liverpool... pic.twitter.com/Cg4YP9avaW— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 17, 2022
READ HERE: Roy Keane Claims Liverpool Victory Over Manchester City Could Be A Turning Point
Speaking on The Stand podcast with Eamon Dunphy, John Giles criticised the decision to not give the foul at the time.
“It’s either a foul or not a foul. I thought it was a foul in the lead up to the goal. The outcome of situations like that, which is a long way back from where it was.
If the referee is letting it go, he should be letting it go because he thinks it’s not a foul, not to create more goals.
We’ve got mixed up anyway a lot with VAR, we are getting more mixed up with that now, we shouldn’t be even discussing this.
It’s either a foul or it wasn’t a foul.”
In a game full of incidents, referee Anthony Taylor was kept busy in a weekend full of controversial decisions.
Manchester United had a goal disallowed and two controversial penalty decisions denied, while Leeds and Arsenal was full of controversy throughout the game.
Referee’s have been put under the spotlight on a weekly basis this season, and Liam Brady has a theory as to why the game is being let flow so much.
"I thought the referee was awful yesterday. They are asking for trouble letting these obvious fouls go ahead. They seem to want to let the game run, and they are getting into all sorts of problems.
I thought it was a obvious foul in real time. Fabinho had the ball, and Haaland pulled him over.
They seem to have this kind of attitude now, let the game go. the players are acting the players are diving, we let the game go. But they are making ridiculous errors, they are making stupid errors.
Anthony Taylor, he's got this reputation of being the best one around, but I thought he was terrible yesterday."
This is a completely opposing view to what was expressed by Gary Neville, who claimed that Anthony Taylor letting the game flow contributed to the excitement.
"Like five or six years ago there was a time when pundits, including ourselves, would say 'we never see challenges anymore, the contact's gone in the game.'
We've now seen that coming back and I don't think we should to be fair be too critical of Anthony Taylor's approach. I thought it was fantastic and added to this game."
SEE ALSO: Pep Guardiola Claims Liverpool Fans Threw Coins At Him
