Walker praises ref’s ‘character’ for Anfield penalty no-call

Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has praised the “character” of referee Michael Oliver for not awarding Liverpool a penalty during Sunday's 1-1 draw between the title rivals.

City winger Jérémy Doku kicked Alexis Mac Allister in the chest as he cleared the ball in the 99th minute of the match, but no foul was committed by the on-field officials or VAR, prompting Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to say “that was 100% a penalty” and wondering what video editor Stuart Attwell “had for lunch”.

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Walker, however, praised Oliver for not being influenced by environment or circumstances.

“My view is that of the referee and the VAR who made a decision on what it is,” he told Sky Sports on Monday. “I think the referee played really well.

“I think once Anfield and the crowd were behind him he could have collapsed. But it shows his experience, it shows his character and that's why he's probably considered one of the best referees of this country and the world today.”

Walker then discussed the Premier League title race, with City third, one point behind Liverpool and leaders Arsenal.

“I don't think anyone has the advantage. We are where we are,” he said. “We have difficult matches like any other, we all have difficult matches.

“I told the guys in the locker room [before playing Liverpool] that this game won't define our season – it's a big step in the right direction toward our ultimate goal at the end of the season, but it won't define our season.

“We know the Premier League, we've been there for many, many years and we've seen a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs.

So there's a lot of football to play, like you say there's 10 big important games to play and hopefully for Manchester City we're going to do that big four in a row that no one has ever done do.