October 3, 2023, 6:43 p.m. BST
Updated 1 hour ago
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Match of the day: Wrong VAR decision rules out Luis Diaz goal against Tottenham
The audio recordings of discussions between match officials surrounding Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal against Tottenham have been released.
After the controversy in the first half of the 2-1 defeat, Liverpool asked the referee body PGMOL for the audio recording.
Video assistant referee Darren England did not overrule when Liverpool’s Diaz was incorrectly ruled offside.
In the audio recording, England says the exam was “perfect” before cursing when he realizes a mistake was made.
After releasing the audio recording on Tuesday, PGMOL said the error was due to a “loss of concentration and concentration.”
The Premier League added that the incident in Saturday’s game and the subsequent review into what led to the wrong decision highlighted “systemic weaknesses in the VAR process”.
What officers said as they analyzed the incident
The game between two of the Premier League’s leading sides was goalless – Liverpool were down to 10 players after Curtis Jones was shown a red card for a tackle on Yves Bissouma – when Diaz thought he had given the visitors the lead after 34 minutes .
But the flag was immediately raised for a possible offside call against the Colombian before he ran to collect a pass from Reds teammate Mohamed Salah.
VAR: Possible offside position for Diaz
Assistant Referee 1: Comes back for offside
VAR: I’m just checking for offside. Delay, delay
The VAR team – England, his assistant Dan Cook and the replay operator – begin evaluating the replays, starting with Diaz winning the ball and the moment Salah releases it.
image source, Getty Images
VAR: Give the kick point, let’s go. Kickpoint please
Referee: Yeah, don’t worry, buddy
Replay Operator: So here we are
Replay operator: Just take a tight angle
VAR: Yes, give me a 2D line that I can have ready for the second image after this image
Replay operator: So frame two there?
VAR: That’s fine. Perfect yes. 2D line on the left boot
Replay Operator: Let me just change the angle
VAR: Romero, I think?
Replay Operator: I think this angle could be better? Satisfied with this perspective?
Replay operator: 2D line on the boat. Yes OK.
At this point, England informed the field referee Simon Hooper that the review had been completed – meaning he had indicated that the offside decision was correct and play could continue with a Spurs free-kick.
VAR: Test completed, test completed. That’s fine, perfect (shows Diaz is clearly on the side). Out of.
Referee. Well done guys. Good process.
Hooper restarts the game after informing the players that Diaz was offside by VAR.
The realization dawns on the VAR team that this was a mistake.
The replay operator alerts England that Diaz was offside, meaning they checked whether he was offside, and VAR assistant Cook confirms they made the wrong decision.
Playback operator: Wait, wait, wait, wait. The decision on the field was offside. Are you satisfied with it?
Replay Operator: Are you happy with this?
Assistant VAR: Offside goal, yes. That’s wrong, Daz.
Replay operator: The decision on the pitch was offside. Are you happy with this picture? Yes, it’s on the page. The picture we gave you is on the back.
Assistant VAR: He played it. He is offside.
When England realize a mistake has been made, Liverpool attack with left-backs Andy Robertson and Diaz.
Spurs defender Cristian Romero slips in before the ball reaches Salah, clears the ball out of bounds and play stops before Liverpool’s throw-in.
At this point, Oli Kohout – the VAR hub operations manager, who was in a different room from the VAR team – advises that the game should be postponed to correct the decision.
Repeat function: delay delay. Oli [PGMOL Hub Ops] say to delay. Oli says we should hesitate.
Replay operator: Oli calls to say the game should be postponed. The decision is on the side
Repeat operator: Oli says to delay. Oli says we should hesitate
Replay Agent: Delay the game, delay the game? Stop the game.
VAR: You restarted the game. Can’t do anything, can’t do anything.
Assistant VAR: Yes, they restarted. Yes
VAR: I can’t do anything. I can not do anything.
The game continued with Liverpool’s throw-in and two minutes later Son Heung-min put Spurs in the lead.
Liverpool responded with an equalizer in first-half injury time through Cody Gakpo, but the visitors, who were down to nine men after Diogo Jota’s red card, lost when Joel Matip shot into his own net in injury time.
How did we get the audio released?
After the incident in Saturday’s Premier League game, Liverpool said “sporting integrity had been undermined”.
In a statement on Sunday, the club said it would “examine the range of options available as there is clearly a need for escalation and resolution.”
PGMOL said the decision not to recognize the goal was “a significant human error”.
“Due to a lapse in concentration and concentration at that moment, the VAR lost sight of the on-field decision and incorrectly communicated ‘review complete’, inadvertently confirming the on-field decision,” PGMOL added in a statement accompanying the audio on Tuesday.
“He did this without any dialogue with the Assistant VAR (AVAR). The game then immediately restarted.”
“After a few seconds, the replay operator and then the AVAR asked the VAR about the result of the review and asked him to review the image created, pointing out that the original decision on the pitch had been offside, but this was the case The case was not communicated to the team on the field at any time during the game.
“The VAR team then considered whether the game could be stopped at this point.”
“However, the VAR and AVAR concluded that the VAR protocol within the Laws of the Game would not allow this and decided that intervention was not possible as the game had started again.”
Liverpool also appealed Jones’ red card, which was handed out after video assistant referee intervention, but was unsuccessful, meaning the midfielder will have to serve a three-match ban.
Will this lead to changes in VAR?
PGMOL said it recognized standards in the incident “fell below expectations” after admitting the error shortly after Saturday’s game against Liverpool.
It added a “detailed” report outlining the “key findings and immediate actions taken” which was shared with Liverpool and the other 19 Premier League clubs.
The “key findings” that it said would “mitigate the risk of future failure” were:
- The guidelines for video game officials have always emphasized the need for efficiency, but never at the expense of accuracy. This principle is clearly reinforced
- A new VAR communication protocol is being developed to make communication between the referee and the VAR team regarding on-field decisions clearer
- As an additional step in the process, the VAR confirms the outcome of the VAR review process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-site officials
The Premier League said it had accepted the PGMOL’s recommendations but was planning a comprehensive review with the referees panel to “continuously pursue higher standards of VAR performance”.
“If necessary, further recommendations for action will be presented and implemented,” the league added.
The incident raises further scrutiny into the effectiveness of VAR – which was introduced in the Premier League at the start of the 2019/20 season – and the impact it had on the game for players and fans.
Former Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin says VAR is “no nonsense”.
“VAR works 99% of the time and has given us more good decisions than referees ever have,” he told ` Radio 5 Live.
“They get it right a lot more often, but we don’t want to talk about that – we want to talk about the times they got it wrong.”
It is also considering whether Premier League officials can travel abroad to officiate games in other leagues.
Cook, England, and Michael Oliver, Spurs’ fourth official, were also part of an officiating team that officiated a league game in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
video caption,
Monday Night Club: Rory Smith says VAR is ‘a real issue’ that needs to be looked at
“PGMOL hopes audio will destroy conspiracies” – Analysis
It is a serious error, but as PGMOL said at the start of the trial, it is a serious human error.
All sorts of conspiracies have come to light and PGMOL hopes this audio will clear up some of them.
The interesting thing is when after restarting the game it says “delay, delay, delay”.
Could they have stopped the game when the ball was in the field for a throw-in? Could they have said: “We got this wrong, we have to go back and give the goal”?
Once they figured this out, they realized they had made a catastrophic mistake.
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