William Saliba was caught in an awkward mix-up after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday, as he appeared to admit that Martin Odegaard's handball in the first half was a penalty for the opposition.
The Gunners skipper slipped and handled the ball in the area shortly after Gabriel had given Mikel Arteta's side an early lead at Anfield.
Referee Chris Kavanagh waved away the passionate protests of Liverpool players, while VAR David Coote decided not to instruct the official to take a second look at the pitchside monitor.
Odegaard's intervention - however accidental - denied Mohamed Salah an opportunity to bear down on the Arsenal goal and Reds fans were even more incensed when it appeared that Saliba agreed with them.
During his post-match press duties, Saliba thought he was asked about a separate penalty claim made by Arsenal team-mate Kai Havertz, confusing as it appeared he was siding with the Liverpool camp over Odegaard's spot-kick claim.
'Yeah, of course,' the 22-year-old chuckled in an interview with Viaplay after he was asked about the incident.
'It was a penalty but I’m not the ref and they have to accept it.
Former Reds defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher latched on to Saliba's comments, thinking he was referring to the Odegaard incident, and claimed that VAR had also missed a 'blatant' handball in Aston Villa's 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.
Blades defender George Baldock got away with a decision after appearing to move his arm towards the ball in the box.
Carragher claimed during commentary on Friday night that he believed it to be worthy of a spot-kick and he reiterated his point on social media.
'It was a penalty & the man of the match knows it!' Carragher wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 'Two blatant penalties for handball in the last two nights & VAR don’t get involved.'
