‘It’s not a handball’ but Jurgen Klopp has ‘more concerns’ than VAR after Liverpool defeat
Jurgen Klopp doesn’t think Jarell Quansah’s stoppage time equaliser should have been ruled out for a handball, but the Liverpool boss has greater “concerns” than VAR after his side’s 3-2 defeat to Toulouse on Thursday.
Quansah, replacing ill captain Virgil van Dijk in the side, poked home in the seventh additional minute to claim what would have been a barely-deserved point in southern France.
However, VAR alerted referee Georgi Kabakov to a potential handball after the ball bounced up off Alexis Mac Allister’s chest in the build-up and the Georgian official contentiously chalked it off.
“I only saw the video back and for me, it’s not a handball, but how can I decide that?” Klopp said during his post-match press conference.
“Yes, the ball goes to the chest and I don’t see contact with the arm, to be honest.
“Maybe they had a different picture than I had. It’s pretty long ago before we score the goal, [I was thinking] ‘where’s the free-kick?’
“That’s interesting, we could talk about that. I heard, I didn’t see it, that there could have been a penalty for us in another situation, I don’t know.”
READ MORE: Chaotic Toulouse defeat and more VAR antics leave weary Liverpool with Europa work still to do
Toulouse, who had won only three matches prior to this game, had been thrashed 5-1 at Anfield a fortnight ago but were an entirely different prospect on home turf, although they benefited from some shambolic defending.
And Klopp admitted that his side’s performance was more of a concern than the questionable handball call.
“I’m actually a bit more concerned [that] I would have loved for us to play better,” Klopp stressed. “That’s my main issue tonight. In a football way, [we needed to be] more aggressive.
“That nearly happened that we got a point here, that wouldn’t have made the game better but it would’ve felt better and the table.”
With LASK beating Union SG, Liverpool forewent the opportunity to secure their place in the last 16 of the Europa League with two games to spare and must now wait until November 30 for another chance.
