Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy believes that the officials were right not to award Nottingham Forest a late penalty in their FA Cup quarter-final clash against Liverpool.
With Forest trailing 1-0 going into the late stages of the clash at the City Ground, Ryan Yates found himself through on goal as the side pushed for an equaliser. He was however thwarted by Liverpool goalkeeper Allison.
There were immediate calls from both Forest players and fans for referee Craig Pawson to point to the spot. It was a decision that didn’t come with the following VAR check agreeing with the on-field decision.
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Despite having a few late chances to draw level, Diogo Jota’s strike proved to be the difference between the sides. Jurgen Klopp’s team will now take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in the semi-final.
The decision not to award a penalty to Forest was one of the talking points following the game. Speaking on Match of the Day, Murphy says that Yates went down too easily in looking for the decision.
“We saw late in the games a couple of chances for Forest and there was a penalty decision that I think some Forest fans initially thought didn’t go their way. What a ball from Garner by the way,” he said.
“Yates goes through here and I can’t understand for the life of me why he’s thinking about trying to dive and get a penalty. You see here, he kicks Allison’s arm with his left foot and dives.
“If he tries to stay on his feet I think he gets a chance to score. The mentality now of so many players is 'I'll go down' rather than 'I’ve got a chance to score'. I find it bizarre.”
It was an assessment shared by Former Forest man Roy Keane , who claimed Yates should have been ‘smarter’ to win a penalty. "The referee has got it right. It was a brilliant pass and an absolutely fantastic touch, but I think the problem with Yates is that he is too honest and not smart enough," he said.
