Liverpool slams VAR after Luis Diaz goal error

Liverpool condemns VAR decision after Diaz goal denied, calls for transparency and improvements in officiating.

Liverpool has condemned the VAR decision to disallow a seemingly legitimate Luis Dias goal in Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Tottenham on Saturday. (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

Liverpool has released a club statement to condemn the VAR system after Luis Diaz was denied a goal on Saturday in a 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The statement concludes with an emphatic resolution that says “The VAR decision against Diaz undermined sporting integrity”. Liverpool lost 2-1 to Spurs but could have taken the lead in the first half after Mohammed Salah set Diaz up for a simple finish, but VAR refused to overturn an on-field offside call.

The PGMOL released a statement shortly after the game to admit to a “significant human error." Referee Simon Hooper obeyed his linesman, who ruled the goal offside but waited for the VAR decision before allowing Spurs to restart the game, but the word from VAR wrongly stood by the on-field decision.

"It is clear that the rules of the game were not applied correctly, which undermined sporting integrity," Liverpool said in an official statement on Sunday. "It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not given to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention."

Liverpool's statement continues: "That such failings have already been categorized as a significant human error' is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.

"This is vital for the reliability of future decision-making as it applies to all clubs, with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again." Liverpool understands the pressure referees go through but can’t understand the incident on Saturday.

The culprits, Darren England and his assistant Dan Cook, who were on duty on the day, were dropped from the Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford game that they were scheduled to officiate and also from the Fulham vs. Chelsea game that they were supposed to oversee from the VAR room.