Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes his side’s Premier League game at Tottenham last Saturday should be replayed following the VAR error that denied his side a legitimate goal.
Luis Diaz saw a first-half effort wrongly disallowed for offside with Klopp’s men, who were later reduced to nine men, going on to lose 2-1.
Colombia international Diaz raced on to a Mohamed Salah pass before firing into the bottom left-hand corner. Television replays showed Diaz was clearly onside but video assistant referee Darren England incorrectly thought the on-field decision was to award the goal and quickly stated the check was complete.
When the error was realised, the game had restarted, meaning it could not be overturned.
Liverpool received an apology and an explanation from refereeing body PGMOL but revealed in a statement on Sunday they were planning to “explore a range of options”.
Klopp believes one of those options is to replay the game, although he accepts that is unlikely to happen.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise, the German said: “Yes, it was a mistake, an obvious mistake. I think there should have been solutions. I think the outcome should be a replay [but it] probably won’t happen.
“As far as I can remember, something like that never happened, that’s why I think a replay should be played.”
Asked if Liverpool were going to make a formal request for the game to be replayed, Klopp added: “At this stage we are still going through the information we have.”
PGMOL can confirm that we have carried out a review into the circumstances which led to the Luis Diaz goal being incorrectly disallowed for offside in the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC.
Full statement and the audio between the on-field team… pic.twitter.com/j1YKK1gAzH
— PGMOL (@FA_PGMOL) October 3, 2023
Klopp refused to blame any of the individuals involved but believes the processes around VAR need revisiting.
“I’m not angry with any of them, not at all,” he said. “We should not go for them. They made a mistake and I’m sure they felt horrible that night.
“The problems are obvious, but they are sortable. We should try to create a situation where these people can make the best decisions.
“It is a heated conversation and there is a solution for it. It’s not because we are involved, a situation like this is a massive mistake. Correct it in that moment.”
Joel Matip’s injury-time own goal that gave Spurs victory compounded a sense of injustice for Liverpool with Klopp also angry at referee Simon Hooper’s decision to upgrade a yellow card shown to Curtis Jones to red after being alerted to his challenge on Yves Bissouma by England.
He added: “What made this day really difficult for us is all the other decisions.
“In this game there was another situation where Curtis Jones got a red card and I stick to the opinion that it is not a red card.
“The ref got called to the screen and saw for the first three seconds a frozen picture. I would give immediately a red card for that picture.
“Then he sees the replay in slow motion and I would have given a red card for the slow motion, but in real time it is not a red card.
“You appeal it then the FA panel tells you ‘no, it is not a clear and obvious mistake’ and I think it is.
“The ref’s first decision was yellow. The clear and obvious mistake is showing a frozen picture and a replay in slow motion.”
