Liverpool lost to Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in a game that featured numerous highly disputed refereeing decisions. Darren England, a VAR official, reportedly decided against getting involved in Liverpool’s loss at Tottenham Hotspur to award Luis Diaz’s first-half goal because he thought the decision had already been made as a goal on the field.
Following a quick VAR review, a free-kick was given to Spurs after Diaz celebrated what he believed to have put Liverpool ahead. It’s interesting that during this review, there was no picture of the offside lines.
After the game, the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) acknowledged a “significant human error” that prevented Luis Diaz from receiving an onside goal. This error happened because the VAR miserably failed to overturn the on-field judgment. “PGMOL acknowledges a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool,” the organization’s statement later stated. “The on-field crew of match officials disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal because it was offside. The goal should have been awarded through VAR intervention because this was a glaring and obvious factual error.
The VAR didn’t step in, though. “PGMOL will conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances that gave rise to the error. At the conclusion of the game, PGMOL will immediately get in touch with Liverpool to apologize for the error. The statement was addressed by Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp, who questioned the value of such mistakes.
