Panel Backs Decision Against Liverpool Penalty at Ipswich

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has backed the on-field decision not to award Liverpool a penalty in their win at Ipswich Town earlier this month.

Liverpool were 2-0 up and in control late in the first half when the flashpoint arrived. Cody Gakpo laid the ball off on the edge of the area, Abdul Fatawu slid in to block, and the pair collided as the Liverpool forward went down.

Referee Darren England waved play on. In the VAR booth, Nick Hopton checked the incident but chose not to send England to the monitor.

Decision: KMI Panel voted 4-1 that the challenge did not merit a penalty and unanimously, 5-0, that there was no case for a VAR review.

In its explanation, the panel described it as “an unusual situation where some contact is made by Fatawu on Gakpo after the ball is laid off”.

Their view was clear: the contact did not reach the “high threshold” required for a foul, and it was not a “clear and obvious error” that would justify VAR stepping in.

On a weekend already heavy with scrutiny on officiating, this is one flashpoint the league’s own reviewers are happy to leave exactly as it was.