October 4 – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is calling for the club’s controversial Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend to be replayed after a VAR blunder cost his team a crucial goal.
The governing body of England’s referees, The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), admitted its mistake after Luis Diaz’s strike was wrongly ruled offside on Saturday and announced changes to protocols to avoid a repeat in the future, including improved communication between Video Assistant Referees.
But the Liverpool manager does not appear to be ready to let the issue drop after his team’s 2-1 loss.
“I think there should be solutions for that. I think the outcome should be a replay,” Klopp said.
“The argument against that would be it open the (flood) gates. But it is unprecedented, it has not happened before. So that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do.”
Liverpool would have moved to the top of the Premier League with a win against Tottenham. Afterwards the club raised questions about “sporting integrity” as a result of the error.
Reports suggest there is no chance whatsoever of the game being replayed and Klopp seems to have conveniently forgotten that Liverpool were down to 10 men at the time, eventually finishing with nine after two sendings-off. Were there to be a replay, therefore, there is an argument to suggest Liverpool should start with 10 men which is how many they had on the field when Diaz scored.
Additionally replaying the game would set a dangerous precedent in terms of previous and future decisions that influence the outcome of matches.
Stats released in the British media show that Liverpool have been regular beneficiaries – more than most – of refereeing or VAR blunders.
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