Jamie Carragher was speaking following the release of the audio recordings
Jamie Carragher believes the release of the audio from Liverpool’s game against Tottenham Hotspur is further evidence that the officials ‘completely froze’ and ‘panicked’.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited released the audio recordings of discussions between the match officials around Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal on Tuesday night. Liverpool asked referees’ body, PGMOL, for the audio after the controversy in the first half of their 2-1 defeat.
Liverpool were left seething over the incident, the latest embarrassing episode for PGMOL and its implementation of VAR technology. After a quick VAR check, the goal was ruled out for offside, and the match restarted, but replays clearly showed Tottenham defender Cristian Romero played Diaz onside.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher said the officials responsible for incorrectly confirming the decision to disallow Diaz’s ‘panicked’ and ‘froze’ once they realised their error. And reacting to the release of the audio, the former Reds defender believes the recordings further back up his point.
Taking to X, the Sky Sports pundit wrote: “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.”
After releasing the audio on Tuesday, the PGMOL said the error was a result of a ‘lapse of concentration and loss of focus’, while the governing body also confirmed two immediate changes have been made to how VAR is used.
