October 4 – A lapse of concentration and loss of focus by the VAR team led to Liverpool not being awarded a legitimate goal against Tottenham Hotspur, the referees’ body in England said on Tuesday after releasing the audio from the VAR hub from Saturday’s Premier League match.
Liverpool should have taken the lead in the first half through Luis Diaz who fired low into the bottom corner before seeing that the assistant referee had flagged for offside when he was clearly onside.
VAR Darren England and assistant VAR Dan Cook have been stood down for this weekend’s fixtures as a result of the blunder.
Liverpool requested the audio of the exchange between referee Simon Hooper and the VAR team according to which England and Cook did not overrule the incorrect on-field decision of offside.
Instead they incorrectly communicated “check complete”, confirming the original on-field decision which helped Tottenham win the game 2-1, prompting the latest flurry of criticism about the efficacity of VAR.
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