That organisation is now in crisis’ – Pundits and ex-pros react after Liverpool VAR audio released
Speculation around what went on in the VAR control centre during Liverpool’s Premier League fixture away to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday has been the talk of football in recent days.
Luis Diaz had a legitimate goal disallowed and the Reds released a statement calling for transparency from the PGMOL over exactly how it all played out.
Last night, the PGMOL released the audio of the incident. They provided their take on it all as well as confirming some immediate changes to the VAR process.
The PGMOL statement read: “As stated shortly after the full-time whistle on Saturday evening, we acknowledged in a statement that a significant human error had occurred during the aforementioned match, which we recognise should have resulted in a goal being awarded through VAR intervention.”
READ MORE: Meet the replay operator and ‘Oli’ who wanted to stop Liverpool game after VAR error
READ MORE: Premier League rule ‘could prompt Liverpool against Tottenham replay’
Pundits and ex-pros have been having their say on social media and through other outlets about the audio – with plenty of them arguing there needs to be serious improvement to refereeing standards and operation of VAR.
While on BeIN SPORTS coverage of the Champions League on Tuesday night, Richard Keys said: “The richest league in the world is being officiated by people that are not good enough. That organisation is now in crisis.”
Reds legend Jamie Carragher posted on Twitter/X: “The video operator is trying to save the situation for the VAR & AVAR one second after Spurs take the free kick!
“Like I said last night on #MNF they have completely froze & panicked & not made the right decision to just stop the game whether that was in the rule book or not. The only positive is I think this will push all concerned to get the VAR audio out a lot more & quicker in the future.”
While working for NBC covering Tuesdays Champions League fixtures, ex-Everton keeper Tim Howard said: “This can’t happen again, but ultimately what we do know about human error, is that it will happen again.
“The system itself has to get looked at again, and why did it happen, we don’t know that just yet, we heard the audio which is fascinating to listen to but we don’t know why there was a disconnect.”
Former Gibraltar international Danny Higginbotham said: “I know we talk about human error, that should not happen, it should not happen, as simple as that. There is no excuse for what happened at the weekend at Tottenham, that is probably the worst decision I have ever seen since VAR came in.”
While discussing the audio on talkSPORT Darren Bent and Andy Goldstein focused on the panic and the seeming rush that the officials were in to restart the game with Goldstein saying: “They said they can’t do anything….they can! It’s your rules, just stop the game.”
Bent added his view on the audio: “It sounds like all kinds of panic going on. Where is the communication? That’s the one thing I thought. Just say to the ref ‘hold on a second. Wait. Just let us check’.”
And ex-referee Keith Hackett wrote in the Telegraph: “I was staggered by the level of communication on show in the short clip released on Tuesday night. There was no joined-up thinking, clarity of thought or any sort of collaborative approach. It appeared people were passing the buck until it all dawned on them what happened, and how they could not – or did not want to – rectify it.”
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