Arne Slot disagrees with Glasner over controversial Palace goal

Slot even referenced a similar situation earlier in the season, where Alexis Mac Allister was left with five stitches after play continued, suggesting there’s a wider issue with how these moments are judged.

Liverpool left frustrated despite victory

While Glasner insisted the decision was correct, saying “I think that this was okay”, Slot believes the referee simply missed the situation as it unfolded.

“The only reason I can come up with is that the referee the moment he saved the ball [and] the ball went to a different position, he looked at that and the next moment he looks up and he sees that the goalkeeper is on the floor.”

He added: “That would be [the] only fair explanation why he didn’t stop the game, otherwise I think he should have stopped the game.”

That’s why VAR couldn’t intervene and why ex-refs like Mike Dean agree with the decision, though it was an unsporting moment from the visitors that didn’t need to happen or could have been rectified.

Interestingly, the Liverpool boss did acknowledge the potential wider implications of stopping play too easily, agreeing that it could become a tactic if applied inconsistently.

“If from now on a goalkeeper is on the floor [and] the referee stops the game I can be 100 per cent sure that there will be teams in the future [who] are going to use that tactic.”

For us, it sums up a frustrating theme this season, where decisions and moments haven’t always fallen our way, even if the final result against Palace ensured we kept our Champions League push firmly on track.