Jamie Carragher's shocking claim: VAR 'panicked' and 'froze' as Liverpool suffers crushing defeat at Spurs
Luis Diaz's disallowed goal for Liverpool against Spurs highlights a crisis in VAR Jamie Carragher criticizes officials for panicking and freezing, leading to the incorrect offside decision Liverpool demands PGMOL to release audio recordings
Jamie Carragher has criticized the officials who mistakenly disallowed Luis Diaz's goal at Tottenham, stating that they panicked and froze when they realized their mistake. Despite replays confirming that Diaz was actually onside, he was flagged offside after scoring for Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
PGMOL admitted that there was a "significant human error" caused by Darren England, the VAR, mistakenly assuming that the goal had been awarded based on the on-field decision. Consequently, he informed Simon Hooper, the referee, to uphold the initial call. Following Tottenham's 2-1 victory over Liverpool, PGMOL issued a statement clarifying this error. It should be noted that according to IFAB rules, once the game resumed, there was no possibility to rectify the mistake.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher expressed his struggle with the situation, stating, "What confuses me is their awareness should be immediate since Tottenham took a free-kick instead of kicking off. I would personally be yelling at the referee, but perhaps they're required to wait until the ball is out of play. They claim to have followed protocol by not stopping the game, yet they clearly panicked and became immobilized."
"That rule may be in place, but it feels like unnecessary bureaucracy. If they had chosen to reverse it, their leadership would have been highly appreciated.
Rumors suggest that the officials weren't aware of the mistake until halftime, but the expression on the referee's face when the ball went out of play [after the incident] spoke volumes about something going awry."
Carragher, in agreement with Liverpool, urged PGMOL and its head referee, Howard Webb, to make public the audio recordings of the conversations that occurred among the officials during the incident.
"To restore their credibility, Howard Webb and PGMOL must release it," stated the ex-Liverpool defender.
Carra: 'We're at a crisis point with VAR'
I find it astonishing that the audio has not been released by all the parties involved. It is truly baffling. PGMOL's apology to Liverpool marks their second apology this season, as they were compelled to do so after neglecting to give Wolves a penalty in their loss against Manchester United. This decision was made despite an evident collision between Andre Onana and Sasa Kalajdzic.Following a series of prominent mistakes last season, Carragher expressed his apologies, stating that the sentiment towards VAR has reached an all-time low, bordering on crisis. This current decision is not the sole factor, but is compounded by previous incidents this season, including the Wolves versus Manchester United match on Monday Night Football.
I don't want to criticize the officials or Howard Webb - they must be feeling terrible. I don't believe in conspiracy theories - no one benefits from this situation.
"We all make errors. However, this mistake is absolutely dreadful, unlike anything we've seen before."
