Liverpool lost 2-1 at Tottenham on Saturday in game full of contentious decisions
Reds were denied a legitimate opening goal for offside
Miscommunication between referee and VAR led to Luis Diaz’s strike being chalked off
By Sean Walsh
Luis Diaz’s goal should have stood
Liverpool have bemoaned VAR’s inability to rule Luis Diaz’s goal onside in Saturday’s loss at Tottenham and confirmed they will ‘explore a range of options available’.
The nine-man Reds fell to a 2-1 loss at Spurs but the result could have been different if Diaz’s first-half strike had been allowed to stand.
Though Curtis Jones had already been sent off at this point, Liverpool thought they had taken the lead when Diaz found the bottom corner after meeting a through ball from Mohamed Salah, though the offside flag was later raised and the goal was chalked off.
However, replays showed that Cristian Romero was playing Diaz well onside and this decision should have been reversed. VAR Darren England confirmed that his check of the decision was complete thinking that referee Simon Hooper had given the goal, with PGMOL claiming ‘significant human error’ led to Liverpool not taking the lead.
Once the referee orders play to restart, the decision following a VAR review cannot be reversed.
