While there have been internal conversations within the Professional Game Match Officials League [PGMOL] about when to release the audio file, Liverpool has submitted a formal request to get the recording between officials from the weekend loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Even while it is now assumed that will eventually occur, there has been increasing pressure to do it immediately. All of this occurs as some of the other Premier League clubs are uneasy about the force of Liverpool’s stance.
Luis Diaz scored in the first half only to have the offside flag raised to negate his goal, forcing the refereeing organization PGMOL to apologize for a “significant human error.” What has happened since can only be categorized as one
It was revealed that VAR official Darren England drew lines to check for offside and determined Diaz was actually onside – but failed to realize that on-field referee Simon Hooper and his assistant officials had initially ruled the goal out for offside. This incident stands out as one of the more chaotic and improbable situations in the Premier League since the introduction of the video technology.In other words, they relayed a “check complete” decision, expecting to signify a goal, but in reality, they gave the go-ahead for a restart with a Tottenham free-kick, depriving Liverpool of a perfectly valid 1-0 lead in a game that they ultimately lost 2-1 late on after having two players sent off.In a statement, the Anfield club said that “sporting integrity [was] undermined” and promised to “explore the circumstances.
There is a perception that the issue won’t be resolved until the recording is made public, despite a defense that a thorough investigation should come first.
Officials from other Premier League teams are becoming increasingly displeased with Liverpool over the situation and feel that they should just accept that mistakes are made and move on as everyone else has. While there was initially compassion for the Anfield club regarding the severity of the error, some executives were alarmed by the force of the later statement. The belief that it might “open a can of worms” that results in every decision being contested in a
other executives were disturbed. The belief that it might “open a can of worms” that causes every decision to be contested to the point that sport is unable to function, the possibility that this could lead to referee pressure, and the fundamental conviction that “it is what it is” were some of the reasons given for this.
Other clubs have been complaining in private that refereeing decisions have cost them points and millions of pounds in prize money, but they have come to terms with the fact that this is the way the game is. Although there hasn’t been any opposition or public discussion as of yet, this sentiment has been developing.
