Former Liverpool star turned Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness made it clear that he believed Mo Salah dived for the penalty equaliser against the Hammers.
The referee failed to call on VAR to confirm his decision but TV replays afterwards appeared to show that the award was based on a six of one and half a dozen of the other incident between the Reds striker and Arthur Masuaku.
Initially it had very much as though the Irons left sided midfielder had been guilty of a foul and there is no doubt it was a difficult and clumsy tackle.
But Souness was entirely convinced that Salah effectively dived because he fell in an unnatural manner and made the challenge look farworse than it in fact was..
The first half equaliser gave the champions a platform to go on and win the games from which the Hammers were certainly worth a point.
Souness told Sky Sports: ‘I don’t give that if I’m a referee in the Premier League. I’ve seen Salah do this time and time again.
‘This is totally an unnatural way to fall. Look, he doesn’t actually kick him, the West Ham player makes contact with his ankle.
‘I think it’s careless and given an enormous invitation for Salah to throw himself to the ground.
‘For me I think it’s a really harsh penalty and that’s coming from a Liverpool supporter.’
Close-up footage of the incident show clear contact from Masuaku on Salah’s leg, but the manner of the forward’s exaggerated fall has resulted in widespread accusations of diving.
Micah Richards, also a Sky Sports pundit and Sportsmail columnist, believes it is the rash challenge from the defender and said: ‘Masuaku does not need to do that there. Whether you think it’s a penalty or not, the referee is there to judge whether he thinks it’s a penalty.
‘He’s making the referee’s decision for him. He doesn’t need to do it.’