‘The opposite is actually happening’ – Slot frustrated with refereeing decisions after goalless draw with Leeds | OneFootball

Arne Slot says his Liverpool players are not getting what they deserve from referees this season.

It comes after Hugo Ekitike was denied a penalty in the goalless draw against Leeds, with Slot feeling his striker should have been awarded one for a foul by Jaka Bijol.

Ekitike opted to stay on his feet during the incident, something Slot believes meant his team were not awarded the spot-kick.

But he says he will not tell his Liverpool players to go down more easily.

“No, because he stayed on his feet,” Slot said when asked if he was surprised Ekitike was not awarded a penalty.

“If he would have fallen down, it would probably be a penalty, but I can understand why he doesn’t go down, because this season, so many times when we were fouled inside the 18-yard box, we didn’t get a penalty.

“Maybe as a result of that, players from us think, yeah, let’s then try to stay on our feet, because we’ve conceded a few where there was hardly any contact. Brentford away, Crystal Palace in the Charity Shield, I can go on and on and on with soft penalties we’ve conceded this season. 

“But when fouls were being made on us, Brentford away, Cody Gakpo, referees say play on. Maybe as a result of that, our players try to do everything to stay on their feet. Then it’s hard for VAR to interfere or a referee to give a penalty if you stay on your feet.”

Slot continued: “I saw in the second half, multiple times, players who, what I would call being smart, if a referee every time blows his whistle, if you feel something or you get a little push and you dive, and the referee gives every time a foul for that.

“Maybe it’s smart then to constantly foul, and you’re hoping that referees are recognising these situations. You’re hoping that if we do everything to stay on our feet, if we go to the floor that they feel like, hmm, this might be a foul then, because these players usually stay on their feet.

“But the opposite is actually happening, and that’s frustrating for me to see.

“If you then don’t get the result you want, that adds up to frustrations I have in that regard. But it’s not the reason that we didn’t win, let that be clear. But it’s the reason why I am sometimes a bit frustrated on the touchline.”

Asked whether he would start telling his players to go down more in the box, Slot replied: “We keep doing the same things. I don’t believe in the fact that over a season you get what you deserve, so sometimes things go against you, sometimes things go in favour of you. I don’t believe in that, but in the long term, over two, three, four seasons, then I believe in it.

“I think I’m not wrong if I say we only had one penalty this season. For the team that has the most ball possession and is attacking so much in and around the box of the other team, it’s quite surprising maybe.

“But I will not encourage them to do that. And if I would tell you now that I’m starting to encourage that, then probably we will never get a penalty anymore.

“So no, we are just who we are. We won the league by the team we were last season. 

“And of course, there will be probably one or two moments, I can remember one, when Milos Kerkez went to the floor, Burnley away, when he didn’t get fouled. So yes, you can find one or two moments when we go to the floor when there was not a foul.

“But I watch a lot of football and I see this happening so, so, so, so, so many times. But we stayed on our feet.”