This weekend, new VAR methods will be implemented in response to the controversy surrounding Liverpool’s humiliating loss to Tottenham.
Due to an extraordinary VAR blunder, Luis Diaz’s first-half goal against Spurs last weekend was incorrectly disallowed.
Jurgen Klopp requested a review of the Premier League game in the VAR audio that PGMOL provided from the incident.
As it was revealed that VAR official Darren England will NOT referee Liverpool for the remainder of the season as a result of his involvement in the error, Gary Neville laughed off Klopp’s replay offer.
To avoid a repeat of the disagreement that lost Liverpool a legitimate goal against Spurs, Premier League VARs will check the results of rulings with their assistant VARs before to this weekend’s league games.
As part of their investigation into what happened at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Darren England and Dan Cook believed they were confirming a goal for Liverpool when, in fact, they ruled ‘check complete’ on an incorrect offside call, PGMOL announced their commitment to a new ‘VAR communication protocol’ on Tuesday.
PGMOL has now directed VAR officials to verify with the AVAR to validate the results of any check procedures before communicating their final decision to the on-field officials.
PGMOL is of the opinion that this action will improve the clarity of communication regarding decisions between the referee and the VAR crew and restore confidence in the system.
While Liverpool plays Brighton, the match officials’ body will be hoping for a VAR-free weekend as Spurs visit to Luton.
