Nottingham Forest Saw Their Goal Disallowed Against Liverpool – Here’s the Explanation

Nottingham Forest supporters were left outraged after seeing a goal controversially ruled out during their trip to Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

Sean Dyche’s men had already gone ahead in the first half through a disputed strike from Murillo — a goal Arne Slot believed should have been cancelled for offside, similar to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed header against Manchester City before the international break.

After the opener stood, Forest quickly thought they had doubled their lead when Igor Jesus controlled the ball inside the box and fired past Alisson Becker. However, the referee judged there to be a handball and chalked it off immediately, sending the incident for a VAR review.

Replays appeared to show the ball striking the Brazilian attacker on the chest or shoulder, but VAR upheld the on-field decision, much to the disbelief of Forest players and supporters.

Following the overturned goal, the Premier League issued a clarification on X, stating:

“The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Jesus accidentally handled the ball before scoring.”

The ruling infuriated the Forest camp, especially as it allowed Liverpool a route back into the match with the score still only 1-0 going into the second half.

The decision also caused uproar among fans online, with some branding it the “worst decision of the season” and an “absolute disgrace,” while another supporter on Reddit insisted it was “as clear cut as it gets — no idea how that was ruled out.”

Liverpool entered the fixture having lost seven of their previous ten matches and were hoping to reset their campaign after the international break, despite a growing injury list that included Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Conor Bradley.