Liverpool have issued a statement slamming the PGMOL’s ‘unacceptable’ reasoning for VAR’s decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham.
VAR ruled out Diaz’s goal in north London despite the winger clearly being onside. PGMOL accepted that an error had been made, and claimed that they would contact Liverpool to explain why such a mistake occurred.
Liverpool, though, do not believe their explanation is satisfactory.
Liverpool were reduced to nine men in the game against Spurs, as both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent off. The home side ultimately won the game 2-1, as a 96th-minute Joel Matip own goal gave Spurs all three points.
Liverpool have issued a damning statement, reading: “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.
“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 categorised as “significant human error” is also unacceptable.
“Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency. 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.”
It remains to be seen what kind of action Liverpool pursue but, in the meantime, they are set to return to action against Union SG in the Europa League on Thursday.
Goal