Liverpool have released a statement about PGMOL’s decision and accused the body of undermining sporting integrity with blunders.
Liverpool are frustrated that Luis Diaz’s goal was canceled out in the first half of Saturday’s agonizing 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.
Even though VAR Darren England has been dropped for not doing his job in the game, the Anfield club is looking to pull all their options, however, it will be quite early to conclude that they may choose the legal route.
There is also a feeling of anger within the Reds Camp following the several decisions that went wrong in that match.
The Reds also believe that VAR England’s role in the process that ruled out Diaz’s goal was too fast and said it was ‘unacceptable’.
However, Liverpool are not keen on the decision, they are more concerned as to why the laws were not applied in the match.
Luis Díaz had a goal chalked off by VAR. @richardajkeys and Andy Gray take a closer look… #beINPL #TOTLIV pic.twitter.com/cDSpws1YrY
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) September 30, 2023
They said: “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night.”
“It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.”
“We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR,” Liverpool added.
“It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.”
“That such failings have already been categorized as ‘significant human error’ is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.”
Liverpool continued: “This is vital for the reliability of future decision-making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again.”
“In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”
This is the latest VAR issue amongst several blunders that Liverpool have experienced in the last two years.
The last time Liverpool saw such a blunder was against Tottenham when officiating referee Paul Tierney failed to send off Harry Kane and also failed to award a clear penalty.
Recall we reported that Jurgen Klopp blasted the PGMOL saying that their apologies made no difference as Spur already had the three points.
Klopp took out the frustration on the refereeing body and claimed that the decisions made by the officials were “unfair” and “crazy”.
In a post-match interview, he was asked how he felt about the disallowed goal and he said: “That is not offside when you see it.”
“The ball is between Mo [Salah]’s legs, they drew the line wrong and didn’t judge the moment when Mo passed the ball right.”
“Who does that help? We had that situation in the Man Utd game. Did Wolves get points for it?”
“We won’t get points for it. We all thought that when VAR came in it would make things easier.”
“The decision was made really quick for that decision. It changed the momentum of the game.”
The Reds manager also showed his displeasure for the sending off of midfielder Curtis Jones and said: “Curtis steps on the ball and goes over.”
“Not a bad tackle. It looks different in slow motion. He steps full throttle on the ball and goes over the ball. That is unlucky.”
