Published on 02.10.2023
Liverpool is determined to “explore the various possibilities” following their claim that the decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham was a result of “significant human error,” thus compromising sporting integrity.
Luis Diaz’s goal against Spurs was wrongly invalidated for being offside, as the VAR incorrectly assumed that the on-field referee had already awarded the goal.
In a statement released by Liverpool on Sunday evening, they acknowledged PGMOL’s admission of their mistakes from the previous night. They emphasized that there was a clear failure in correctly applying the laws of the game, leading to an undermining of sporting integrity.
“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.
“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.
The reason behind why the VAR team did not intervene during gameplay remains unknown. It is uncertain when England and Cook first realized their error. After England signaled to on-field referee Simon Hooper with a message stating ‘check complete,’ less than a minute after Diaz scored his goal through a free-kick for Tottenham, play resumed.
"PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 30, 2023
The PGMOL statement on the Luis Diaz disallowed goal. 👇 pic.twitter.com/qC2C0jMsXD
Once the game became ‘live’ again, it appears that due to certain circumstances, perhaps related to timing or protocol constraints, the VAR team felt unable to interfere.
