Ian Calder

The refereeing Liverpool have been subjected to, particularly at Anfield, is genuinely staggering. And I’m tired of legitimate criticism being dismissed as “sour grapes” before anyone even bothers to look at the evidence. Paul Tomkins has researched this extensively, going back decades and some of his findings are genuinely ridiculous. Consider these stats from his April 2026 study: • ZERO opposition players have received a foul-related DOGSO red card at Anfield since 2009. That’s 325 home league games without an opponent being sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity through a foul. • 3 Liverpool players received DOGSO red cards at Anfield in just 28 games under Slot. More than opposition players received at Anfield in the previous 25 years combined. • Liverpool haven’t received a penalty in the opening 15 minutes of a league match with fans present since December 2012. Man City received 14 (!!) in that same period. • Liverpool went 305 consecutive league matches between 2015 & 2023 without an opposition player receiving a 2nd yellow. That’s 8 years. Home or away. • Since VAR was introduced, Liverpool have received just 2 VAR-awarded penalties for fouls. Man City received 11. Liverpool have also had 7 awarded against them. • Liverpool received ZERO subjective VAR overturns in their favour before the 28th minute across approximately 260 matches. Man United received 7, Arsenal 6 & Man City 6. • Salah averaged just 0.83 fouls won per 90 minutes, ranking outside the top 2,000 players in Tomkins’ study. Anyone who watched Salah knows how ridiculous that is given how frequently he’s grabbed, pulled & manhandled. • Liverpool’s average foul free-kicks won dropped from around 12-13 per game before Klopp to just 9 after his arrival. Only Sheffield United recorded fewer in Tomkins’ comparison. • Only 51% of Liverpool’s penalties were awarded at Anfield, compared to approximately 63% at home across the league. Some home advantage, eh? And perhaps the most damning stat of all: Of the 56 highly contentious league incidents Tomkins identified against Liverpool in the VAR era, 53 (95%) happened when the match was level or separated by just 1 goal. These are game-changing decisions. Penalties, red cards & incidents that can genuinely decide matches, title races & entire seasons. Think about Tarkowski’s challenge on Mac Allister, Ødegaard practically playing basketball at Anfield, Senesi’s handball or Salah getting manhandled every other week without a whistle. Oh, and literally disallowing a completely valid goal at Tottenham (no, YOU let it go). At what point do we stop pretending this is normal? And what frustrates me most is how quickly people dismiss the conversation as “sour grapes.” As if being a Liverpool supporter somehow invalidates the evidence. You can be biased & still be absolutely right. I’m not suggesting these stats automatically prove some grand conspiracy, but the disparities are extraordinary. And when you actually watch the incidents themselves, it’s difficult to understand how some of these decisions are even possible. We’re talking about penalties & red cards. Literally the most consequential decisions a referee can make. And somehow Liverpool consistently find themselves on the wrong end of them, even at Anfield - especially at Anfield - where we’re supposedly benefiting from this enormous home advantage. Why shouldn’t that be questioned? Credit to Paul Tomkins for actually doing the research & documenting this over the years. Full analysis: tomkinstimes.substack.com/p/… But sure, “sour grapes.” #LFC