In their 1-1 draw with Arsenal last month, Liverpool SHOULD have received a penalty kick, according to Howard Webb.

In the most recent episode of Match Officials Mic’d Up, the former Premier League referee shared his thoughts on the event following the release of the VAR recording.

The Martin Odegaard handball against Liverpool’s VAR audio has been made public.

Referee Chris Kavanagh denied Liverpool a penalty during the December 23 encounter at Anfield.

When the ball struck the arm of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, Mohamed Salah tried to flick it around.

Nonetheless, Kavanagh’s on-field judgment was validated by a VAR investigation into the incident.

According to the audio from the ruling, Kavanagh stated, “No, his hand is on the floor.” The players from Liverpool pleaded for a penalty, saying, “His hand is on the floor.”

Then, during the review, Assistant VAR Lee Betts is audible, saying, “Yeah, from the brief look I’ve seen, yeah, agreed, yeah, yeah.”

VAR After confirming the choice, David Coote says, “For me, Lee, I’m back with life.” He’s falling and reaching out to embrace, so I think the check is complete.

On Match Officials Mic’d Up, Webb and former Liverpool striker Michael Owen disagreed with that assessment.

Before Webb gave his thoughts on the ruling, the former Red Owen acknowledged, saying, “I thought it was a penalty.”

The PGMOL chief answered, “So do I.” The field referee observed Odegaard’s arm move toward the ground and realized he had slid. 

“We discuss supporting arms.’” It’s highly normal and a well-established concept if someone falls and breaks their fall with their arm. However, this scenario differs significantly from a typical falling play.

Odegaard did not only tumble onto the ball by chance. The ball makes contact with the arm when he draws his arm back in towards his body after slipping and extending his arm.

“That aspect was examined by the VAR. In his opinion, Odegaard was attempting to physically shrink himself by drawing his arm closer to his torso. That’s the crucial component in this situation.

“Bringing the arm back towards the ball gives him a significant advantage, whether it is done consciously or instinctively. Every comment we received subsequently was quite explicit. In this case, a penalty is expected by the game. I concur.

Webb maintained that the penalties given by referee for Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski’s “sustained” tug on Brighton striker Danny Welbeck and the red card given to Raul Jimenez of Fulham against Newcastle were the proper calls.

According to Howard Webb, referee Chris Kavanagh ought to have issued a penalty.

He also supported the penalty that Manchester City won against Everton, despite the Toffees’ argument that Amadou Onana was too close to the Nathan Ake strike to be given a penalty.

Perhaps even more unexpectedly, though, was the former World Cup final referee’s assessment that VAR Michael Salisbury was right to uphold Luton’s dramatic late equalizer at Turf Moor.

Burnley was incensed because they thought Elijah Adebayo had fouled goalie James Trafford prior to Carlton Morris leaving for home.

Salisbury, however, ultimately agreed with referee Tony Harrington’s original assessment that Trafford initiated the contact, calling it “not a clear and obvious error.”

Webb stated: “I know Burnley would be expecting a free kick, but a lot of people I’ve talked to don’t think that way.

“VAR was introduced to address extremely evident circumstances. This was not a black and white one, but a grey one. The VAR was right when it came out since it divided opinions.