Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the pressure being put on officials after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited vowed to investigate the decision to rule out a Luis Diaz goal in the Reds’ dramatic 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Diaz looked to have put Liverpool ahead in the 34th minute when he raced on to Mohamed Salah’s through ball and rifled into the bottom corner of the net, but the offside flag was immediately raised.
A VAR check by Darren England in Stockley Park occurred, with screens inside the stadium informing supporters, but play was able to quickly resume with the effort remaining offside.
Referees’ body PGMOL has since acknowledged a “significant human error” occurred and that VAR “failed to intervene” to prevent the error.
The PA news agency understands that the VAR drew the lines to check for offside and followed the process correctly.
But, in what sources described as a momentary lapse of concentration, England lost focus of the initial on-field decision, meaning his confirmation resulted in a ‘check complete’ instead of intervening and awarding Diaz’s effort as intended.
Liverpool went on to finish the match with nine men and suffered stoppage-time heartbreak when Joel Matip deflected Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the post-match discussions focused on the crucial first-half error.
“Who does that help now? We had that situation in the Wolves-Man United game. Did Wolves get the points? No,” Klopp reflected when informed of the PGMOL statement.
“We will not get points for it so it doesn’t help. Nobody expects 100 per cent right decisions on field but we all thought when VAR comes in that it might make things easier.
Following Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 win over Liverpool, PGMOL have acknowledged that the Video Assistant Referee made a "significant error" in not overturning a decision that awarded Luis Diaz as offside after scoring in the first half of the match.
More: https://t.co/LDdcQmCs2B pic.twitter.com/GcQ3qKvOMd
— Premier League Communications (@PLComms) September 30, 2023
“I don’t know why the people…are they that much under pressure? Today the decision was made really quick I would say for that goal. It changed the momentum of the game, so that’s how it is.”
After a breathless start at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Liverpool were reduced to 10 men in the 26th minute when Curtis Jones was sent off following a VAR review.
Jones caught Yves Bissouma with a high, studs-up tackle on his shin that initially earned him a yellow card but referee Simon Hooper upgraded the decision to a red card after he used the pitchside monitor to review the incident.
Diaz found the net six minutes later, but after it was ruled out Tottenham went ahead when captain Son Heung-min tapped home from Richarlison’s centre in the 36th minute.
![Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/6ac83cc53f022cd3c059f30b9ed34b2eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk2MTk0MjA3/2.73957884.jpg?w=640)
Cody Gakpo levelled for Liverpool on the verge of half-time but Klopp’s problems mounted when Diogo Jota was dismissed midway through the second half following two fouls on Destiny Udogie in quick succession.
It meant Liverpool had to play the final 21 minutes in north London with nine men and their stubborn resistance was finally broken when Porro’s dangerous cross was diverted past Alisson by Matip.
Klopp added: “I told the boys after the game I am super proud and especially with 10 men they were really good. They did everything that is necessary and on top of that we were courageous.
“I don’t think there is anything to say about the offside goal. I knew at half-time.
![Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/c5758c90b77c8c754d4edd97eb1ff41bY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk2MTkzODYx/2.73958897.jpg?w=640)
“In the first moment I thought it was clear offside but then it is right to think they have a better view and at half-time we knew with normal pictures. Easy to see, no offside.
“But I am pretty sure whoever did make that decision did not make it on purpose. It didn’t take extremely long to come to the conclusion, that is a bit strange, but someone else has to clarify that.”
Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, was happy to accept the rub of the green with the Diaz ruled out effort but highlighted that VAR will never be “errorless” after he watched his team’s unbeaten record stretch to seven matches in the Premier League.
He said: “I think I’m on record as saying that I’ve never really been a fan of it since it came in. Not for any other reason than I think that it complicates areas of the game that I thought were pretty clear in the past.
“We used to understand that errors were part of the game, including officiating errors. You’d have to cop it and some people would cop it better than others but that was part of the game.
“The game is littered with historical refereeing decisions that weren’t right but we all accepted it that it was part of the game because we’re dealing with human beings.
“I think that people are under the misconception that VAR is going to be errorless.
“So much of our game isn’t factual. It’s down to interpretation and they’re still human beings. They’re going to make mistakes the same way managers make mistakes, the same way players make mistakes.
“When you put such a high bar on something it invariably is going to fail, so if people are thinking that VAR is going to be something that at some point that is perfect, that’s never going to happen.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here