"An absolute nightmare" - Ian Wright and Alan Shearer slam referee Anthony Taylor for 'messy' decision that went against Liverpool
Match of the Day duo Alan Shearer and Ian Wright expressed their disappointment with Anthony Taylor's bizarre decision against Liverpool. This happened in the Reds' 2-2 draw against West Ham United on Saturday, April 27, which saw the former once again drop valuable points in the title race.
West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola took his time to get back on his feet after collecting the ball in the dying moments of the game. He then rolled out the ball whilst adjusting his socks.
An opportune Cody Gapko ran towards the ball to tap the ball into the open net to give Liverpool the lead. Referee Anthony Taylor, however, blew his whistle denying the Dutchman an opportunity to score.
The turn of events did not go down well with Wright and Shearer. Ian Wright called it an "absolute nightmare" and went on to describe the incident which caused all sorts of confusion and caused Liverpool the win.
Speaking on Match of the Day (via the Daily Mail), Wright was quoted as saying the following:
"The referee has had an absolute nightmare. The referee is running off and saying play on. He stops and he actually tells the ‘keeper to get up. He says "come on, let’s get on with it." He says that a couple of times. He [Areola] finally gets up and then he [Taylor] runs off."
He added:
"He says play. Now, he’s turned his back to him, I think Gakpo should have ran and finished that. Now he’s blown the whistle – I don’t know what’s going on. He’s going there…I don’t know what’s happening there now."
Alan Shearer echoed what his fellow pundit had to say. The former England international believes Anthony Taylor made an error to begin with but later tried to rectify it, causing more kerfuffle.
"It’s a mess. The ref has made the error of not blowing. When the goalkeeper has collided with the post, that’s when he should have stopped the play and blown the whistle."
He added:
"He hasn’t blown the whistle which is an error. The referee calls the doctors and the physios on! They’re not even ready, they don’t even think he’s injured. He’s not injured, he’s [Taylor] has tried to rectify the mistake that he’s made. It was a very messy situation caused by the referee."
It is worth mentioning that Anthony Taylor has been named as one of the referees for the upcoming Euro 2024 in Germany. He joins Michael Oliver, Stuart Attwell, and David Coote as officials coming from England. The latter two, however, have been named as VAR officials.
Liverpool are all but out of the Premier League title race following their draw against West Ham
Liverpool's 2-2 draw against West Ham sees them lose further ground in the Premier League title race. Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring for the Hammers before the Reds took the lead through Andy Robertson and an own goal from Areola.
West Ham, however, leveled the game when Michail Antonio netted 13 minutes from time.
Liverpool are now two points behind league leaders Arsenal having played a game more. They are also a point behind second-placed Manchester City, who have two games in hand over Jurgen Klopp's side.
Liverpool have picked up just one win from their last five games in the Premier League. They have lost two games, against Crystal Palace and Everton, and only managed to draw against a struggling Manchester United side and West Ham. Liverpool's only win in these five games came away from home against Fulham.
They have three games remaining this season, two of which are at home against Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers and an away game against Aston Villa.