It has been amazing to see how the conversation has changed after Liverpool decided to issue a statement over the VAR gaffe Tottenham committed against them.
Widespread cross-club support for the Reds immediately following the game was unusually strong for football, as Man United great Gary Neville’s harsh comments on Sky Sports clearly demonstrated.
But the story seems to have changed now that they have made an effort to truly address this injustice and taken measures to make sure it does not happen again.
Since then, Neville has changed his mind and called Liverpool’s announcement “a mistake” on social media. A long line of journalists have also lined up to voice their disagreement.
Many people appear to believe that the only appropriate response to the worst refereeing blunder of the VAR era would be to let it go.
Since then, Neville has changed his mind and called Liverpool’s announcement “a mistake” on social media. A long line of journalists have also lined up to voice their disagreement.
Many people appear to believe that the only appropriate response to the worst refereeing blunder of the VAR era would be to let it go.
We cannot say for sure whether the awarding of Luis Diaz‘s goal would have had a material effect on the outcome, seeing as the entire game would have been changed from that moment onward.
However, the fact there is any uncertainty over the consequences throws up questions about the integrity of this Premier League season – ones that will only get louder should Liverpool finish narrowly short of the title or the top four.
We cannot say for sure whether the awarding of Luis Diaz‘s goal would have had a material effect on the outcome, seeing as the entire game would have been changed from that moment onward.
However, the fact there is any uncertainty over the consequences throws up questions about the integrity of this Premier League season – ones that will only get louder should Liverpool finish narrowly short of the title or the top four.
Do not forget, that happened to the Reds less than two years ago, when the officials failed to award an 85th-minute penalty for a Rodri handball as Man City beat Everton 1-0 late in the season, en route to winning the title by a single point.
That may have been a subjective decision, but the PGMOL subsequently apologised and so, had the campaign played out exactly the same aside from those five minutes at Goodison Park, the trophy would have gone to Anfield.
The reality, though, is that the club are simply keen for a thorough and transparent review – one not prejudiced by that hasty declaration of “significant human error” – to be conducted in order to avoid a repeat.
Clearly, the VAR process has to be tweaked in order to further minimise the possibility of human error, including implementing better communications around goal awards and allowing referees to pull play back in the event of such a huge error.
Given that it is not a large leap to conclude that exhaustion may have contributed to this latest slip-up, questions must also be addressed regarding whether officials will continue to undertake 7,000-mile round flights to officiate in the UAE in the days before games.
