VAR: Klopp and FSG officially request for Liv v Tot reply

FSG has issued a statement on Wednesday evening officially requesting PGMOL to fix a date for Liverpool v Tottenham match replay. The statement was backed by Liverpool boss and media houses across England.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was speaking to the media for the first time since the PGMOL released the audio footage of the process which saw Luis Diaz’s goal ruled out vs Spurs

Jurgen Klopp has called for Liverpool’s controversial defeat at Tottenham to be replayed after audio of their disallowed goal was released to the public.

The PGMOL had already apologised to the Reds in the aftermath of their controversial 2-1 defeat at Spurs on Saturday night. The incident arose when Luis Diaz’s was flagged offside when running through to open the scoring. The incident was then quickly checked by VAR before the game continued.

However, it was subsequently confirmed that VAR Darren England and assistant VAR Dan Cook were under the impression that the on-field decision was a goal. The audio released on Tuesday night shows England tell referee Simon Hooper ‘check complete’, signalling for the match to get back underway.

It wasn’t in the moments following the resumption of play that the officials in Stockley Park realised their monumental howler. And Klopp’s press conference before Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise, marked the first time the Kop boss could speak publicly on the matter.

“The audio didn’t change it at all because I was not really interested in why things happen. I saw the outcome, I saw a goal, and I saw it didn’t count. It’s really important that we deal with it in a proper way.”

“The only outcome should be a replay…probably won’t happen. The argument against that will be if we open that gate everyone will ask for it. I think the situation is unprecedented. I’m 56 years old and I’m absolutely used to wrong decisions. But something like that as far as I can remember has never happened. That’s why it should be a replay.

He added: “I think a replay would be the right thing, or, the ref has the opportunity to bring both coaches together and say ‘we made a mistake, let Liverpool score a goal and we start from there’. What makes this specific game so special is that we concede two minutes after and how all things depend on each other, if we had scored we would have started the game in the centre. It would have been different.

The two officials have subsequently been dropped from this weekend’s matches, but Klopp believes there should be no further punishments: “That’s my view. I’m not angry with anybody. They made a mistake and felt horrible, but we shouldn’t go after people and they don’t deserve any further punishment.”

Vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold meanwhile. Admitted the dressing room was frustrated, but insisted they were now only looking forward. Asked if the incident eroded the trust in VAR, he said: “I wouldn’t say trust issues, decisions are decisions, sometimes they go for you, sometimes against.

What happened is very disappointing and frustrating, but there’s nothing we can do as players. We’ve got to move forward. But VAR is a system in place and we can’t control, we have to put our trust in officials that use it and at times they don’t, We’ve just got to hope they get them right as much as possible.”

Liverpool released a scathing statement before PGMOL bosses decided to release the audio, threatening to take further action. Within the release, the Premier League giants said “sporting integrity had been undermined” and promised “escalation and resolution”.

In their own statement on Tuesday night, the PGMOL – the body of professional referees – announced a series of changes as a result of the blunder. They said: “The review of the on-field and VAR decision-making processes and application of the decision-making principles has identified the following key learnings to mitigate against the risk of a future error:

Guidance to Video Match Officials has always emphasised the need for efficiency, but never at the expense of accuracy. This principle will be clearly reiterated

A new VAR Communication Protocol will be developed to enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions

As an additional step to the process, the VAR will confirm the outcome of the VAR check process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-field officials.