Webb already let game be replayed amid drastic move after Liverpool controversy
Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp did not anticipate a replay being possible when he suggested one might be fair earlier in the week. But there is a precedent.
VARgate, or whatever we’re calling it, has rolled into day seven and shows no signs of letting up yet. In light of the comments made by Ange Postecoglou in his latest press conference, the debate is certain to continue for a while longer.
The Tottenham manager has dismissed the notion that his team should’ve allowed Liverpool to score following Luis Díaz’s disallowed goal had they been made promptly aware of it. “I just don’t see that,” he said (via the Liverpool ECHO). “If we want managers to be the arbiters of these kind of things… we’ve got pretty hefty responsibilities at our football clubs but we’re not the custodians.”
Postecoglou later added: “It’s different if it’s something clear. It was a bad error through a lack of communication but it wasn’t something that was easily explainable. If it was easily explainable, I would assume there would have been more uproar than there was.” It seems pretty easy to explain to us, Ange.
Anyway, the fallout from Darren England’s poor officiating continues, with the clear error leaving referee chief Howard Webb with a very difficult decision to make. With those issues in mind, here are the two Liverpool.com stories from today that you shouldn’t miss.
Howard Webb has granted replay before in MLS role
When Jürgen Klopp requested a replay for Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, he conceded that it was unlikely to be granted. Yet there is a precedent that involved Webb, the PGMOL’s chief refereeing officer.
It occurred during his time as head of VAR operations in the MLS, in October 2021. After a legitimate goal was disallowed, the match was later restarted from that point with the goal having been awarded.
It’s hard to imagine this scenario happening for Spurs and the Reds any time soon but it’s certainly interesting in light of Webb’s involvement. Matt Addison has more on this intriguing story here.
PGMOL makes drastic England decision
A report in The Telegraph has claimed that England, the VAR who wrongly disallowed the Díaz goal, will not officiate another Liverpool match this season. This seems a very sensible decision, as the pressure upon him when refereeing or taking the VAR role for a Reds match will now forever be enormous after what happened last weekend.
While not a Premier League precedent as large as the one that would be unleashed if the match were replayed, it’s understandable that Webb does not want to keep officials away from certain clubs wherever possible. There are only 20 Select Group 1 referees and limiting the pool further means teams will see the same officials even more frequently.
We’ll let you ask Klopp how he feels about probably seeing Paul Tierney more often, if that’s alright with you. Matt Addison has more on the England situation here.
