Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has criticised Liverpool's Mohamed Salah following the striker's unsuccesful attempt to deceive referee Jonathan Moss into awarding Liverpool a penalty in the 4-3 win over Crystal Palace.
The Egypt international has come under the spotlight in recent outings with his theatrical tumbles - which hasn't gone unnoticed by Clattenburg who has questioned Salah's integrity after falling with 'no contact' from former Red
"Mo Salah went down with no contact from Mamadou Sakho," Clattenburg wrote in the Daily Mail.
Referee Clattenburg is one of the world's most respected officials and has officiated some of the world's top games, including the 2016 Champions League final and the UEFA Euro 2016 final.
Despite not claiming for the foul during the incident, Clattenburg believes this is all part of the technique the current Premier League top scorer uses in deceiving referees into awarding the foul.
Mo salah appreciation tweet..
— Redside (@jimmypreece75) January 19, 2019
50 goals in 72 appearances for @MoSalah in a Liverpool shirt(prem) unbelievable stats tha pic.twitter.com/er3ydzVJUW
"It's irrelevant that he did not appeal for a penalty, because he was trying to deceive referee Jonathan Moss, who should have issued a yellow card.
"One thing I have noticed is that when Salah goes down to try to win penalties, his hands go above his head," he explained.
"Salah was accused of going down easily to win penalties against Arsenal and Newcastle. In all these situations, he has no chance to score, so it seems he prefers to try to win a penalty."
Top #PL scorers 2018/19
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 21, 2019
16 - Salah
14 - Aubameyang & Kane
10 - Aguero, Hazard, Sterling & Wilson@MoSalah leads the way! pic.twitter.com/dro1BvMMAb
Clattenburg went as far as to suggest the 2018 PFA player of the year award winner coerces referees to award penalties in order to prop up the Egyptian's goal tally.
"As he is Liverpool's penalty taker, he will know winning a spot-kick means he has a free shot at goal. He is then likely to increase his chances of winning the Golden Boot."
Salah has scored 16 league goals so far this season; three of those have come from the penalty spot.
Source : 90min