The match between Liverpool and Tottenham saw a blatant refereeing error when by Luiz Diaz the first half goal was disallowed for offside.
Based on the slow-motion image, the Liverpool striker clearly did not seem to be offside, but a really quick VAR check ruled the situation as offside.
PGMOL, the referee organization responsible for refereeing in English professional football, admitted the error in a press release after the match. Except there was a wrong interpretation in the situation.
– PGMOL admits that a significant human error occurred in the first half of the Tottenham Hotspur-Liverpool match. Luis Diaz’s goal was disallowed by the referees, which was a clear mistake and VAR should have changed the decision. VAR failed here, the release said.
PGMOL says in the release that it will investigate what led to the error. The organization also says it will contact Liverpool and admit the mistake to the club.
You can view a still image of the situation that led to the rejection from the X message service publication below.
Klopp described the decisions as crazy
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp criticized the jury’s decisions as unfair and crazy.
– It’s not offside. The ball is Mohammed Salah’s between the legs. They drew the wrong line and didn’t judge the moment when Mo passed the ball, Klopp told Sky Sports.
Klopp also criticized the VAR check, which was done quickly. He didn’t seem to be comforted by the fact that the referee’s association admitted a mistake in the goal situation.
“I don’t see that we should talk about this too much because it doesn’t help at all,” Klopp said.
– We all thought that VAR would make things easier, he updated.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk stated that he is losing faith in the VAR system. He reminded that it should be completely clear and sure in its decisions.
– I’m losing my faith. It’s hard to say, the captain began.
– No lines were shown in the live broadcast. This is all a bit strange and I don’t know who was in the VAR room to decide it. This is not a good thing, and it doesn’t look good either, van Dijk updated.
Experts ransacked the system
An expert for the English television channel Sky Sports, a player legend Gary Neville also robbed the VAR system.
– That is incredible. That is really bad, really, really significant, Neuville hinted at the wrong verdict after the match.
In the same speech, Neville criticized how quickly the VAR check was carried out in the situation. He also wondered about the positions of the VAR cameras in the clubs’ stadiums.
– It seems we are never on the right track again, Neville said.
– I have defended the VAR system, but in the last few weeks there have been two or three situations when it felt like the camera angle was not right.
“Terrible Day”
Former England national football team striker Alan Shearer described the VAR error on the BBC incomprehensible. He sees that when it comes to offside situations, people had already accepted that you can’t argue against the VAR system.
– This gives time for so many doubts about the following decisions. This was a huge mistake. We noticed it straight away, Shearer said on the BBC.
Shearer highlighted the role of the assistant VAR referee. He noted that it only took 30-35 seconds after the situation for play to resume.
– The VAR was momentarily distracted, but why can’t the assistant VAR say we have to stop this?
– A terrible day for the referees and the VAR system. We’ve seen blunders, but this is the biggest of them all.
A difficult match for Liverpool
The struggle was difficult for Liverpool, as they had to play with less than two men for more than 20 minutes. First Curtis Jones took the red in the 26th minute of the game and later Diogo Jota two yellows in the second half.
Heung-Min Son completed Tottenham’s opening goal and Cody Gakpo Liverpool’s equalizer. Tottenham’s late pressure on the away team Joel Matip directed the ball into his own goal, which was the winning goal.
With the win, Tottenham rose to second place in the series behind Manchester City and level on points with local opponent Arsenal. Liverpool is fourth, two points behind Manchester City.