The handball law has become football's most contentious talking point. And Liverpool found themselves on the wrong end of another baffling VAR decision as Benjamin Sesko's goal for Manchester United stood despite clear contact with his hand.

Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards pulled no punches in their assessment of the officials' decision at Stockley Park. Both former England internationals agreed the goal should have been chalked off under current IFAB regulations.

The controversy centres on United's second goal, when Sesko's effort struck the Slovenian striker's hand before trickling into the net. Reds goalkeeper Freddie Woodman had parried Bruno Fernandes' header onto the United forward, and as the ball bounced upwards, close-up footage clearly showed contact with Sesko's fingers.

Shearer didn't mince his words on Match of the Day 2. "I thought it was handball. I don't want to see these goals disallowed, right, I think the handball law is a complete nonsense anyway and this law as well," he said. "But, in terms of consistency and applying the law correctly, I think me and Micah agreed straight away that we both said 'that has hit his hand'. You can see the motion of the ball move because it hits his left hand there."

The former Newcastle striker's frustration was palpable as he continued: "It's only a slight touch, I get that and as I said, I don't want to see them disallowed, but when they are applying the law and that is what they say, 'if it hits any part of your hand and you're the goalscorer it should be disallowed' and that should have been disallowed."

Richards echoed those sentiments, focusing on the clear change in the ball's trajectory. "It's there for us all to see. The motion of the ball changed, didn't it? And that's what you need to look at," the former Manchester City defender explained. "Like Alan said, we don't want to see goals given away for this when we are talking about fingernails or whatever, but the law is 'if it comes off your hand' which it clearly did in our view, the goal should not have been given. It is as simple as that."

The current IFAB rules are crystal clear on this matter. A goal must be disallowed if an attacker scores directly with their hand or arm, even if the contact is accidental, or immediately after the ball touches their hand or arm. Yet somehow, after a lengthy VAR review, the officials permitted the goal to stand.

Shearer summed up the absurdity of the situation perfectly: "We are at this stage, this is where we are at now. This is where they have got us, we are actually debating whether it has flicked onto his finger unintentionally. It's like, come on, that's the state the game and the laws are in now, it's ridiculous isn't it?"

Liverpool showed tremendous character in the second half, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo finding the net to overturn what looked like a dismal defeat. The Reds appeared well and truly beaten after a poor first-half performance, but two rapid goals hauled them level when it seemed impossible.

However, Kobbie Mainoo's decisive winner secured United's place in next season's Champions League, leaving Liverpool six points behind their rivals with just three matches remaining in the season.

Arne Slot's measured response highlighted the broader issue whilst refusing to make excuses. "If it is a touch it is never a lot of course. If it was a touch, it should have been disallowed," the Liverpool boss said. "I want to focus on how we conceded that second goal, because that's where we can do better."

The controversy raises serious questions about VAR consistency and the application of handball laws. When even former players who openly dislike the current regulations agree a decision was wrong, something is fundamentally broken with the system.

Liverpool's Champions League hopes now hang by the finest of threads, and they'll be wondering what might have been had the laws of the game been applied correctly.