Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said if it were up to him, the match against Tottenham would be replayed after a serious mistake saw striker Luis Diaz’s goal wrongly disallowed by VAR.
Jurgen Klopp believes the referees responsible for Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday deserve no further punishment.
Liverpool thought Diaz had given them the lead shortly after Curtis Jones was sent off, but the assistant referee immediately raised the offside flag after the ball went into the net.
Video assistant referee (VAR) Darren England then intervened, thinking the initial decision was onside, with a review showing that Diaz was indeed onside and that the goal should have stood.
However, England made a mistake when they told referee Simon Hooper “full control”, leaving him to think the original offside decision was correct.
The replay operator then pointed out the error, with VAR assistant Daniel Cook then telling England: “That’s wrong, Daz.”
In audio released by the Premier League and PGMOL, England can then be heard saying “Oh, f***” before VAR Hub operations director Oli Kohout urged them to try to postpone the match so as to be able to correct the error.
However, England say they “can’t do anything” as the match has already resumed.
England and Cook have been dropped from this weekend’s Premier League matches because of the error, while referee Hooper will be on the pitch at VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Sunday.
The referees have received calls for their sacking from some quarters, but Klopp doesn’t want that to happen. “I’m not angry at anyone at all,” he stressed in the press conference before Liverpool’s Europa League match against Union Saint-Gilloise.
‘nd I really think it’s not just about respecting people, you shouldn’t attack them. They made a mistake and felt terrible that night, I’m 100% sure of that.
VAR referees Darren England and Dan Cook were sent off from the match following the error
“That’s enough for me. But nothing more. No one deserves further punishment or anything. I think we should discuss this without emotion and I’m not angry at all.”
However, he added that if it were up to him the match against Tottenham would be replayed, adding: “It’s an obvious mistake.
There should be solutions for this. The result should be one repetition. But that probably won’t happen.
“The counter argument will be that if we open that gate, everyone will ask for it. I think the situation is unprecedented.
I’m 56 years old and I’m definitely used to making bad decisions.
But as far as I can remember, nothing like this has ever happened. That’s why it has to be a repeat.”
