The Premier League could decide to replay the clash between Tottenham and Liverpool if an appointed committee establishes that the referees broke the rules of the game when it came to ruling out Luis Diaz’s goal.
Audio of the incident will soon be released by refereeing body PGMOL, which is aiming to be as transparent as possible following Saturday night’s embarrassing scream, but only after Liverpool have been able to assess what communication took place between referee Simon Hooper and the VAR. Darren England and his assistant Dan Cook.
Both England and Cook were sidelined by the PGMOL, but Hooper acted as fourth official in the match between Fulham and Chelsea on Monday night, indicating he has been cleared of blame.
The Reds did not ask for the match to be replayed, but a carefully worded statement said they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
This suggests, say experts, who have already sought legal advice and that if they end up pushing for the match to be played after processing the audio, there is a possibility of that happening.
Stephen Taylor Heath, co-head of sports law at JMW Solicitors, told Mirror Football:
“Rule L18 states that the Premier League board has the power to order a replay of a league match provided a recommendation to do so sense it was made by a committee. below line W51.
“Furthermore, under Rule W1, the Premier League Board has the power to investigate any suspected breach of the rules, including those committed by a match official, while Rule N4 ensures that each match official agrees to be bound by the laws of.” the game as well as all FA protocols and rules.
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“It is therefore possible that Liverpool will put pressure on the Premier League board to set up a committee which would, among other things, have the power to order a replay of the match.”
“To exclude a general dispute from the Premier League regulations, a starting point would normally be to establish a contractual relationship between the club and officials which has been breached, or a duty of care and negligence resulting in a loss.”
Nonetheless, in these circumstances it would be legally difficult for Liverpool to claim to have lost points – and only at the end of the season could the potential impact of the referees’ error be fully assessed.
Taylor Heath added: “While it has been established that athletes owe a duty of care to each other – for example in the event of personal injury – it would be very difficult for Liverpool to prove that the mistake itself cost them points in the legal sense, given the countless scenarios.” could have happened if the finish had held – this is not the same as a horse race, for example, where the mistake is choosing the winner at the end of a race.
“It should also be noted that Liverpool will only be able to fully assess the potential impact of this decision at the end of the season.”
