Liverpool were left frustrated during their 1-0 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday night after believing they should have been awarded a penalty. Around the 30-minute mark, Dominik Szoboszlai’s shot hit the arm of Aurelien Tchouameni, and referee Istvan Kovacs initially gave a free kick just outside the box.
VAR then instructed the referee to check the pitchside monitor to confirm whether the handball took place inside the penalty area. After reviewing the footage, Kovacs changed his original decision — not to a penalty, but to no handball at all — and restarted play with a dropped ball in Real Madrid’s favour.
Dale Johnson of BBC Sport later clarified why. He explained that VAR alone determines the exact location of the offence, while the referee only reviews subjective decisions like whether the handball is actually an offence. By going to the monitor, Kovacs overturned his initial ruling that handball had occurred. Since VAR concluded the contact happened inside the box, it would normally result in a penalty. However, because the referee decided there was no handball, the decision became an overturned penalty call, and play restarted with the goalkeeper – meaning Liverpool lost possession.
The reasoning clears up why the dropped ball was awarded, though many Liverpool fans remain confused and irritated. Tchouameni’s arm looked far enough away from his body to justify a handball, and Kovacs seemed to abandon his initial instinct instead of awarding a penalty once he saw it occurred inside the area.
Thankfully, the controversial decision didn’t affect the outcome thanks to Alexis Mac Allister’s winning header. Had the match ended level or with a narrow Real Madrid win, the incident likely would’ve dominated the post-match discussion.
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