Thrilling Tottenham Triumph: VAR Controversy Surrounds Luis Diaz's Goal in 2-1 Victory Over Liverpool
PGMOL acknowledges crucial mistake as Luis Diaz's goal is incorrectly disallowed in Tottenham vs Liverpool clash Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher question VAR's failure to intervene promptly
Luis Diaz was wrongly denied a goal for Liverpool against Tottenham due to an offside call made by VAR, which mistakenly thought the on-field decision had been to award the goal. The PGMOL acknowledged immediately after Tottenham's 2-1 victory that a "significant human error" had occurred, stating that it was a clear and obvious factual mistake that should have resulted in the goal being given through VAR intervention.
It was initially believed that VAR Darren England had failed to check whether a Tottenham defender had played Diaz onside by drawing the on-screen lines.
Why didn't the VAR team then stop the game?
In a surprising turn of events, it has come to light that the VAR mistakenly believed that the on-field decision indicated a goal had been granted, whereas in reality it had not. Consequently, despite recognizing Diaz's offside position, England conveyed a message confirming the completion of the review, leading to the disallowance of the goal.
The exact moment when England and Assistant VAR Dan Cook discovered their error remains undisclosed. After England informed on-field referee Simon Cooper with the message 'check complete', the game resumed less than a minute after Diaz's goal was scored with a free-kick for Tottenham.
Once the game was back in play, it is believed that the VAR team felt unable to intervene.
Gary Neville, a pundit on X, responded, "I believe that if you observe the expression on the referee's face, it indicates that they were contemplating overturning the game and declaring it a goal." He further added, "At a certain point, the referee appeared visibly distraught! From the gantry (which is not visible to viewers at home), the VAR screen remained fixed on the offside decision while the game continued. It seems they were aware of the decision almost immediately; however, for some inexplicable reason, they did not review it or were unable to do so due to regulations."
Jamie Carragher, fellow pundit, also expressed his dismay, asserting that regardless of the method employed, the error committed was truly appalling. However, he finds it ludicrous that once they realized the enormity of their blunder right after the Spurs free-kick, they are unable to rectify it simply because the free-kick had already taken place.
