Ex-Premier League referee clarifies why Virgil van Dijk escaped Crystal Palace penalty claim

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher weighed in on the contentious penalty situation during Crystal Palace's clash with Liverpool, dissecting why the referee was spot-on with his decision at Selhurst Park.

The Reds edged out a tight affair 1-0 on Saturday, thanks to Diogo Jota nabbing the crucial goal before the break.

Liverpool held their ground to snatch the victory and keep their pole position intact, but not without controversy; Palace reckoned they deserved a penalty after an encounter between Virgil van Dijk and Marc Guehi ensued in the second half. Calls for a spot-kick erupted when Van Dijk seemed to tangle with Guehi, yet both referee Simon Hooper and VAR were unmoved, prompting heated discussions post-match.

The incident sparked heavy scrutiny and questions about Liverpool's luck with the decision. On Monday morning, Sky Sports unpacked the incident, bringing Gallagher alongside pundits Sue Smith, Stephen Warnock, and host Rob Wotton for some analytical conversation.

In his breakdown, Gallagher made clear why Van Dijk's interaction with Guehi didn't merit a penalty call and, when nudged to equate this scenario to a prior one involving Chelsea's Wesley Fofana and West Ham's Crysencio Summerville.

He remarked, "It's interesting watching it [Van Dijk and Guehi] in slow motion because it takes longer to run, twice as long to hold, if you watch it in speed, it doesn't look anything like that," speaking to Sky Sports. "It is different (when watching on replay), it's gone very quickly, it's gone to the goalkeeper.

"They've [PGMOL] worked on two things this season, it's got to be sustained holding - what is it? That's up to the individual - and it's got to have an impact, but it had no impact because it hadn't gone to [Marc] Guehi, the goalkeeper had punched the ball when he's tried to move."

"It's totally different (to the incident between West Ham and Chelsea) because the player's on the ball, it started outside the box and taken inside, the fact it's taken so long to go that far, that's why I thought that was a penalty."

"It was clear that pre-season they sent out this message about consequence, we're seven weeks in, I'm much happier with where we are with the tolerance level."