In what was a very physical match at The Hawthorns, Andy Carroll saw multiple early refereeing decisions go against him in the early going — including a 28th-minute yellow card — that hampered the big man's ability to be aggressive thereafter.
Many of those calls by Martin Atkinson, it could easily be argued, should have been whistled in the other direction, and Carroll became visibly frustrated.
Teammate Dirk Kuyt believes that Carroll was right to feel that way, and that referees have treated Liverpool forwards unfairly this season, according to the Guardian.
"I thought the referee was right with the two penalty decisions, but it appears that referees have problems with things our strikers are doing — it was the same with Fernando [Torres]," Kuyt said. "Every time they go up in the air, they seem to have free kicks given against them and I don't think the way Andy was treated was very fair.
"It is very frustrating as you see strikers on other teams doing exactly the same thing yet they don't get punished," he added. "It's difficult to understand sometimes and referees need to look at the situation. That's why Andy was so frustrated during the game. He felt he should have got a couple of free kicks. We spoke to him just to try and help him calm down."
Liverpool continues the quest to return to European football next Monday at Anfield against Manchester City.
