Controversy at Anfield: Arne Slot Questions Referee's Actions

Arne Slot has put forth the suggestion that referee John Brooks was conscious of setting a precedent of not being intimidated by the lively Anfield crowd during Liverpool's 2-1 victory over Chelsea. The Sunday match featured various VAR checks, including an episode in the sixth minute when Tosin Adarabioyo was shown a yellow card following his tackle on Diogo Jota.

Liverpool took control of the game after a 29th-minute penalty, awarded for Levi Colwill's challenge on Curtis Jones, was successfully converted by Mohamed Salah. However, the Reds were denied a potential second spot-kick just before the half-time whistle. Referee John Brooks initially decided a penalty was warranted after Chelsea's goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, clashed with Jones in the box. However, after being edged by VAR official Michael Oliver to review the decision, Brooks decided against awarding a second penalty.

The scoring was balanced out at the 48-minute mark when Nicolas Jackson found the net for Chelsea. The goal was initially called as offside, but this was later overturned upon VAR review. Mohamed Salah managed to serve the ball to Jones three minutes later, who secured the decisive goal for Liverpool.

As Liverpool relished their victory, which propelled them to the pinnacle of the Premier League, Arne Slot implied the game might have been less hard-fought if the officials had chosen to adopt a different approach.