Liverpool’s clash with Nottingham Forest at Anfield turned into yet another chapter in the ongoing saga surrounding VAR and consistency in the Premier League, as Arne Slot’s side were left fuming over two hugely controversial calls that shaped the game’s momentum — and possibly their season.

The flashpoint arrived in the 33rd minute, when Forest defender Murillo opened the scoring from a corner. Liverpool failed to properly clear the set piece, and the ball dropped to Murillo, who smashed it past Alisson Becker from the centre of the box. But immediately, all eyes turned to Forest forward Dan Ndoye, who appeared to be standing in an offside position directly in front of Alisson as the shot came in.

From a Liverpool perspective, it looked like a textbook case of offside interference: a player in an advanced position seemingly blocking the goalkeeper’s line of sight. Yet after only a brief VAR check, the goal was allowed to stand. Anfield was stunned, and anger grew as fans recalled a very similar incident just weeks earlier that had gone very differently.

In Liverpool’s 3–0 defeat to Manchester City before the international break, Virgil van Dijk had seen a powerful header from a Mohamed Salah corner ruled out. On that occasion, Andy Robertson was deemed to be standing in an offside position in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma, obstructing the goalkeeper. The goal was disallowed after VAR intervention, a decision that stung even more given Liverpool went on to be well beaten.

That context was exactly what infuriated former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, who was on BBC Radio 5 Live duty at Anfield. He pointed out the glaring inconsistency: if Robertson ducking out of the way in front of Donnarumma was enough to rule Van Dijk’s header out, how could Ndoye — with the ball passing between his legs in front of Alisson — not be considered interfering?

Keown asked bluntly why the “mantra” applied in the City game hadn’t been followed at Anfield. For Liverpool supporters already frustrated with recent results, it felt like double standards in real time.

The Premier League Match Centre later tried to clarify the decision on X, stating that the on-field call of goal had been checked and confirmed because Ndoye was deemed not to be in Alisson’s line of vision and had not made an action that impacted an opponent. That explanation did little to calm debate. For many, if Van Dijk’s effort was disallowed, Murillo’s goal had to be treated the same way.

The sense of injustice only deepened minutes later when Forest thought they had doubled their lead. Igor Jesus pounced in the box after the ball ricocheted off Ibrahima Konaté and fired past Alisson to make it 2–0 — or so it seemed. This time, VAR intervened more forcefully, and the goal was ruled out for handball.

Again, replays became the centre of attention. To some pundits, including Ashley Williams on Final Score, the decision was baffling. He argued that from the available angles, the ball appeared to strike Jesus between chest and stomach rather than clearly hitting his arm. Keown, too, insisted he could not see a definitive handball on the replays shown.

Former referee Mike Dean, speaking on Sky Sports, added yet another layer. He pointed out that to overturn the on-field decision, the evidence has to be “clear and obvious,” and in his view there wasn’t enough proof to conclusively show handball. He called the decision “harsh” but ultimately said he had to back the on-field referee.

So in the space of a few minutes, Forest had a goal awarded in a situation many believed should have been offside, then another disallowed for a handball several experts couldn’t clearly see. For neutrals, it was a chaotic illustration of how subjective VAR still feels. For Liverpool, already under pressure, it was infuriating.

Forest did eventually grab a second early in the second half, with Nicolo Savona finishing calmly from the centre of the box. That goal stood without drama — but by then the narrative of the match had already been dominated by officiating rather than football.

For Arne Slot, the defeat is more than just another bad day with VAR. Liverpool came into the game having lost four of their previous five league matches, their title defence already wobbling badly. Dropping further points at Anfield, with key decisions going against them and the fanbase feeling persecuted by inconsistency, only adds to the pressure on the new manager.

The comparison to the Manchester City incident will not go away quickly. When two visually similar situations are handled in opposite ways within a matter of weeks, questions about the application — rather than the laws — become unavoidable. Is the problem the wording of interference and handball, or how those words are being interpreted from game to game?

In the end, Liverpool were left with zero points, a furious fanbase, and fresh doubts about both their form and the fairness of the system overseeing the biggest league in the world. Forest walked away with a landmark win and their own grievances about the disallowed second.

And the rest of the Premier League? They’re left watching, wondering: if decisions this crucial can still feel this inconsistent, what happens when the stakes are even higher in the title run-in?