Liverpool have expressed their dissatisfaction and frustration with the VAR error that denied them a goal in their 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The club said that the mistake undermined the sporting integrity of the game and that they will explore the options available for resolution.
VAR fails to correct offside call on Diaz’s goal
The incident happened in the first half of the Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when Liverpool were already down to 10 men after Curtis Jones was sent off for a foul on Harry Kane. Mohamed Salah played a through ball to Luis Diaz, who beat Hugo Lloris with a low shot. However, the linesman raised his flag for offside, and VAR did not overturn the decision despite replays showing that Tottenham defender Cristian Romero was clearly playing Diaz onside.
Liverpool were furious with the call, as they felt they had taken a deserved lead against their rivals. Manager Jurgen Klopp said after the game that he was “speechless” and that it was “a clear goal”. He also questioned why the referee Simon Hooper did not check the monitor himself, and why VAR did not intervene to correct the error.
PGMOL admits ‘significant human error’ by VAR officials
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body that oversees the referees and VAR in England, issued a statement later on Saturday admitting that VAR official Darren England and assistant Dan Cook made a “significant human error” in failing to award Diaz’s goal. PGMOL said that it was a “clear and obvious factual error” and that it should have resulted in a goal being awarded through VAR intervention. PGMOL also said that it will conduct a full review into the circumstances that led to the error.
However, Liverpool were not satisfied with PGMOL’s admission and apology. The club released their own statement on Sunday, saying that it was “unsatisfactory” that sufficient time was not given to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention. Liverpool also said that it was “unacceptable” that PGMOL had already categorised the mistake as a “significant human error” without conducting a proper review and with full transparency. Liverpool said that they will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.
Liverpool lose to Spurs after late own goal by Matip
The VAR controversy overshadowed a thrilling game between two of the top teams in the Premier League. Tottenham took the lead in the second half through Harry Kane, who scored his first league goal of the season with a stunning volley. Liverpool equalised through Sadio Mane, who tapped in from close range after a cross from Trent Alexander-Arnold. However, Liverpool’s hopes of salvaging a point were dashed in stoppage time, when Joel Matip scored an own goal after deflecting Son Heung-min’s shot past Alisson Becker.
The result meant that Tottenham moved up to fifth place in the table, while Liverpool dropped to third, behind Chelsea and Manchester City. Liverpool also finished the game with nine men, after Andy Robertson was shown a red card for a challenge on Japhet Tanganga. Both Robertson and Jones will miss Liverpool’s next game against Leicester City on Wednesday.
