The exact reason why Liverpool forward Luis Diaz’s goal was controversially disallowed during Saturday’s Premier League clash against Tottenham has now been revealed – and it’s fair to say that it’s highly embarrassing for referees’ body PGMOL.
PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) issued a statement in the aftermath of the match, admitting “significant human error” was behind Diaz’s first-half goal being wrongly disallowed. The 26-year-old thought he’d given 10-man Liverpool the lead with an excellent finish past Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, but the assistant referee had raised his flag for offside.
What happened?
An unusually quick video assistant referee (VAR) check by Darren England followed but, curiously, the customary offside line graphic was not shown. Broadcaster beIN SPORTS then showed footage to viewers at half-time which appeared to show that Diaz was, in fact, onside when the ball was played through to him.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match. Liverpool – who were reduced to nine men midway through the second half when Diogo Jota was sent off for a second bookable offence, following Curtis Jones’ earlier red card – went on to lose the match 2-1.
Son Heung-min put Spurs 1-0 up in the 36th minute before Cody Gakpo equalised on the stroke of half-time. The visitors battled valiantly with nine men after Jota’s dismissal but Joel Matip’s unfortunate own goal in the dying seconds handed all three points to Ange Postecoglou’s side and left Jurgen Klopp’s men cursing their luck.
Reacting to the PGMOL’s sheepish statement, Klopp told reporters: “We will not get points for it, so it doesn’t help. I think what everyone wants is, not everybody expects 100% right decisions on field, but I think we all thought when VAR comes in, it might make things easier.” Indeed, this is undoubtedly one of the biggest VAR gaffes since the technology was introduced – if not the biggest.
VAR expert reveals why Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed
ESPN’s Dale Johnson has now revealed on X (formerly known as Twitter) the exact reason why Diaz’s goal was ultimately disallowed. It not only makes the situation even more embarrassing for PGMOL, but also harder to swallow for everyone associated with Liverpool Football Club.
Johnson wrote: “Ok, here’s the nuts and bolts. This is what happened with the Luis Diaz ‘goal’ which Liverpool had disallowed vs. Tottenham. There will be a deeper dive in the Monday VAR thread, but in simple terms the VAR took the wrong onfield decision – it led to the goal being disallowed.
“So the VAR, Darren England, checked offside thinking the onfield decision was ‘goal’. It was a quick offside check because it was clear Diaz was onside, so he told the referee ‘check complete’. In telling the ref ‘check complete’ he is saying the onfield decision was correct.
“So the ‘human error’ by the VAR team is getting the onfield decision wrong. Not by failing to draw lines etc. The lines were drawn and Diaz was clearly onside. The huge, quite unbelievable error was misunderstanding the onfield decision.
“As soon as Spurs take the free-kick for the offside, which they were set up for, the decision cannot be rolled back. Can only imagine the VAR room when that free-kick was taken…”
Indeed, that’s a shocker – and who knows how costly that might prove to be for Liverpool, who would have moved to the top of the Premier League table with a victory, come the end of the season. Klopp’s side now sit fourth in the league, one point behind second-placed Spurs and two behind leaders Manchester City.