Kenny Dalglish Furious with Refereeing Decisions as Liverpool Lose to Stoke

Kenny Dalglish was obviously upset with the way referee Mark Clattenberg officiated Liverpool's clash with Stoke this afternoon. Liverpool came away from the Britannia Stadium disappointed to have dropped three points in a game they dominated in many ways.

"I just don't see how that's a penalty kick," Dalglish explained, according to Click Liverpool's Richard Buxton, in regards to Clattenberg's decision to award Stoke a penalty in the 21st minute after Jamie Carragher and Jonathan Walters had battled for the ball in the box.

Walters stepped up to convert the penalty, giving the Potteries side a lead that they held onto with stout defending—and some measure of luck—to take the 1-0 victory.

Dalglish was then further infuriated by two handball incidents—one particularly contentious involving Mathew Upson near the end of the game—which were waved away by the referee.

King Kenny has mentioned he will speak to the club's owners as he considers taking matters into his own hands to ensure Liverpool get a fair deal from referees. Dalglish noted that, in each of the four games this season, decisions have gone against his side.

Dalglish said he would take "the same route some other people do," in order to ensure parity from officials. One could speculate who Dalglish was referring to, though it is quite likely to include a fellow Scot who is known to speak out about referees.

Luis Suarez protested in disbelief at the final handball decision, though Suarez himself could have made the perceived injustice less telling if he could have finished one of the chances he had, along with a number of other profligate Liverpool players.

At times, Stoke held on by the most slender of threads—including one amazing spell where five shots came in quick succession from Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam—but Liverpool will be bitterly disappointed that they could not convert their chances.

According to Anfield Index, Liverpool had 20 attempts on goal with six on target and held the large majority of possession at 73 percent.

Frustration was the overriding emotion for the Reds returning from Stoke, mainly as it was a game they certainly should have won.