Former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher, has said that Manchester City should have been given a penalty for Kurt Zouma’s collision with Sterling during the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Man City took the lead through Sterling’s goal in the first half while Sergio Aguero missed a chance to extend the club’s lead from the spot.
Chelsea came back stronger in the second half scoring through Hakim Ziyech before Alonso turned in Timo Werner’s cross to secure a 2-1 victory for the blues at the Etihad.
Pep Guardiola was angered by referee Anthony Taylor decision to waved away the penalty after Zouma appeared to clip the back of Sterling’s leg inside Chelsea’s box.
“I think it’s a penalty, it’s clumsy, he doesn’t play the ball,” Gallagher told Premier League Productions when asked about the penalty claim. “It is a penalty in my view but I think it is so minimal contact that VAR looks at it, is it a clear obvious error?
“He’ll say no, leave it with the on-field [decision]. Many, many times we’ve asked for the on-field referee to make the decision.
“I think in this case it’s left to the on-field [decision]. I feel he’s got it wrong. What I would say is he’s made a genuine decision and I can’t see VAR overturning it.
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“What you have to remember is he’s [the VAR official] there to say if it’s a clear and obvious error. I think not, in my view it’s a penalty, but it’s so subjective.
“A lot of people look at that and say there’s not enough contact. Only a few weeks ago we were talking about how many penalties have been given that wouldn’t have been given in previous years because the tolerance level for contact has been brought down so low.
“So I think the balance has got to be – does a referee on the field think it’s a penalty? No. Does the VAR looking at it think it’s a clear and obvious error? He thinks no, so it’s left with the on-field decision.”
