Controversial VAR Call: Why Liverpool’s Penalty Appeal Was Downgraded to a Real Madrid Drop-Ball

Liverpool were left frustrated on Tuesday night despite their 1-0 win over Real Madrid, after a controversial decision denied them what they believed was a clear penalty. Instead, play bizarrely resumed with a dropped ball in favour of the visitors.

 

Around the 30-minute mark, with the match still goalless, Dominik Szoboszlai’s effort struck the hand of Aurelien Tchouameni. Referee Istvan Kovacs initially awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, before being called to the VAR monitor to check if the handball occurred inside the penalty area.

 

After reviewing the footage, Kovacs surprisingly ruled that no handball offence had taken place and cancelled his original decision, restarting play with a dropped ball to Real Madrid. The call left Liverpool fans confused and annoyed, but BBC Sport’s Dale Johnson has now broken down the reasoning behind it.

 

He explained that the situation was “a factual decision”, noting that determining where the handball occurred is strictly a VAR responsibility, not the referee’s. He also clarified that referees are only sent to the monitor for subjective decisions — such as whether a handball is actually an offence. By reviewing the screen, Kovacs effectively overturned his original call of handball.

 

Johnson further explained why Madrid received a dropped ball: “The handball factually took place inside the box; that makes it a penalty, which VAR can check. If it had been confirmed outside the box, the free kick would’ve stood, even if it was wrong.”

 

Because the penalty was overturned, the rules required play to restart with the goalkeeper — resulting in Liverpool losing their attacking advantage.

 

While that clears up the confusion behind the dropped ball, it doesn’t justify why Kovacs reversed the handball decision itself. Tchouameni’s arm looked clearly extended, and once he saw it happened inside the box, a penalty should’ve been the logical outcome.

 

Fortunately for Liverpool, the incident didn’t affect the final result thanks to Mac Allister’s winning goal. Had the game ended in a draw or with Madrid edging it by a single goal, this decision would’ve dominated the post-match debate.

 

Even though it didn’t change the outcome, the officials’ handling of the situation remains puzzling and could’ve cost Liverpool dearly.