Nottingham Forest walked out of Anfield feeling robbed after a first-half strike that should’ve put them 2–0 up was erased in one of the weekend’s most hotly debated VAR calls.
The game had already started with controversy when Murillo put Forest ahead — a finish Liverpool boss Arne Slot felt mirrored the Virgil van Dijk offside incident against Manchester City earlier this month. That one went against Liverpool. This one didn’t.
But the real drama came minutes later.
The Igor Jesus Incident — What Actually Happened?
Igor Jesus brought down a bouncing ball in the box, brushed off Joe Gomez, and hammered a shot past Alisson. Forest players wheeled away in celebration… only to turn around and see the referee pointing to his arm.
The official ruled that Jesus had handled the ball before scoring.
VAR stepped in, reviewed the angles, and somehow reached the same conclusion — even though replays appeared to show the ball striking the top of his chest/shoulder, not his arm.
The Premier League later clarified on X:
“The referee’s call of no goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Jesus accidentally handled the ball before scoring.”
For Forest, the explanation did nothing to cool the anger.
Forest Fans Erupt: “Worst Decision of the Year”
The reaction online was explosive.
Many Forest supporters labelled the decision “embarrassing,” while others said VAR had “invented a handball that never happened.”
One fan on Reddit summed up the mood perfectly:
“That’s as clean as a goal gets. How do they still get this wrong?”
With Liverpool coming into the match on the back of seven losses in ten and missing key players like Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Conor Bradley, the disallowed goal felt like a massive turning point. Instead of Forest heading into the break with a commanding lead, Liverpool stayed alive — and the momentum shifted their way.
Another VAR Flashpoint in a Season Full of Them
Forest have had their issues with officiating this season, and this moment only deepened the frustration.
Even neutrals were baffled by how VAR reviewed the footage and still returned the same verdict.
For many, it wasn’t just a bad call — it looked like the exact type of decision VAR was supposed to prevent.
