What Mike Dean said about Liverpool penalty as Bournemouth fans make their feelings clear

Mike Dean has shared his opinion on the penalty awarded to Liverpool during the first half of their Premier League match against Bournemouth earlier today.

What Mike Dean said about the Liverpool penalty as Bournemouth fans voice their frustrations

Just before the 30-minute mark at the Vitality Stadium, referee Darren England pointed to the penalty spot after Cody Gakpo went down inside the box. The referee ruled that Gakpo had been clipped by Lewis Cook.

This led to an immediate online debate about the validity of the decision, with one camera angle suggesting that Gakpo might have tripped himself, while another angle seemed to show contact from the Bournemouth defender.

Regardless, VAR did not find any reason to overrule the on-field decision, and Mo Salah converted the penalty, scoring his 20th Premier League goal of the season.

What did Mike Dean say about the Liverpool penalty decision? Appearing on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, Dean appeared to support England’s decision to award the penalty, stating that Gakpo had indeed been clipped.

The former Premier League referee commented (15:28): “There’s definitely a clip there.”

What Mike Dean said about the Liverpool penalty as Bournemouth fans voice their frustrations The home crowd at the Vitality Stadium expressed their anger over the decision, chanting “1-0 to the referee” once Salah successfully converted the penalty.

Liverpool Echo journalists Paul Gorst and Ian Doyle both felt that the foul was awarded somewhat generously, with one camera angle reinforcing this view.

However, it was noteworthy that Cook did not argue with England about the penalty, which suggests that he did not believe the decision was incorrect.

Regardless of the decision’s correctness, Salah needed to score the penalty, especially after missing a similar chance in Liverpool’s 1-0 loss at Bournemouth two seasons ago. This time, Salah made sure to convert the spot kick, making up for that previous miss in March 2023.

At the time of writing, Liverpool lead 1-0, and securing all three points would be a significant achievement for them on the south coast.