In the first half of their match against Brighton, Liverpool was given a penalty, but by the regulations, Pascal Gross ought to have been dismissed as well.
Simon Adingra’s early goal gave the Reds a 1-0 deficit following a poor start at the AMEX, but they rallied to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
When Salah was given the opportunity to score from the penalty spot to give Liverpool the lead, he had already converted after a wonderful flowing play to equalise.
After Gross pulled down Dominik Szoboszlai with a pull of the shirt while the Hungarian was grabbing a loose ball, referee Anthony Taylor finally gave the Hungarian a penalty.
Although Salah converted the penalty and VAR maintained the ruling, there was still debate about whether Taylor had the right to dismiss Gross as well.
Under the ‘double jeopardy’ regulations, it was promptly proposed that he would escape any punishment.
However, the German should have been sent off in accordance with regulations established by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for the 2023–24 season.
The following laws apply when denying a goal or a clear opportunity to score goals, according to IFAB:
“Where a player commits an offence against an opponent within their own penalty area which denies an opponent an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and the referee awards a penalty kick, the offender is cautioned if the offence was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for the ball; in all other circumstances (e.g. holding, pulling, pushing, no possibility to play the ball etc.), the offending player must be sent off.”
Gross prevented the No. 8 from taking a shot from 10 yards out by dragging Szoboszlai back via the neck of his shirt while making no attempt to play the ball.
Just over a week has passed since the controversy surrounding Liverpool’s 2-1 loss against Tottenham and the scrutiny of Premier League officials.
Salah was able to convert the penalty, so Taylor’s decision did not hinder the Reds, although it is puzzling that Gross wasn’t even cautioned for his challenge.