The PGMOL released audio recording of the VAR and match officials during the botched Luis Diaz offside ruling on Tuesday.
The footage, which was made public following pressure from Liverpool, demonstrates exactly what went wrong in the VAR room when Darren England and Dan Cook failed to signal to referee Simon Hooper that the Reds’ number seven had scored a perfectly legitimate goal.
Prior to the release of the tape, the PGMOL openly recognised the blunder, and refereeing chief Howard Webb allegedly apologised to Liverpool. Following the blunder, England and Cook were not nominated for officiating responsibilities in Premier League gameweek eight.
Liverpool’s statement on Monday stated that the club will “explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution,” but the audio has only fueled some fans’ rage over the failings.
While the club’s statement did not ask for a replay of the 2-1 loss, some of the more extreme groups online have proposed it as the sole form of justice, with petitions even sprouting up seeking a rematch.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp has stated that he believes the match should be replayed due to the inaccuracy.
It will not, however, take place.
WHY WON’T TOTTENHAM VS LIVERPOOL BE REPLAYED
For starters, despite Klopp’s remarks, no one at Liverpool is calling for it.
The club does not believe the PGMOL’s explanation of’significant human error’ is enough, and what the Reds really want is, as Melissa Reddy writes on Sky Sports, “a transparent and thorough investigation into the procedural failings” leading to the event.
According to the Athletic, Liverpool completely accepts the outcome of the game and will not request a replay after discussing with “a number of senior figures at the club.”
Second, making a legal argument for a rematch would be nearly impossible.
According to the Mirror, the Premier League has the authority to order replays of games in certain cases where regulations are broken. Making it happen, however, is incredibly difficult for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that we may not know the actual impact of the decision on Liverpool’s season until next spring.
“It would be very difficult for Liverpool to establish that the error itself cost them points in a legal sense given the infinite scenarios that could have arisen had the goal stood – for example, it is not the same as a horse race where the error is as to the winner at the end of a race,” sports lawyer Taylor Heath says.
“It is also worth noting that Liverpool can only really assess the potential impact of this decision come the end of the season.”
The reality is that Jurgen Klopp and his squad will have to wait until 4 May, when Spurs visit Anfield in the rematch of the Premier League, for a shot at revenge/catharsis on the pitch.
Meanwhile, a thorough examination of what occurred is required to determine what went wrong and prevent it from happening again.
“This isn’t about Liverpool, or even about referees,” says Paul Macdonald for Anfield Watch, “it’s about the entire culture of football itself, from the fans, to the players, to the referees, to the results.” It’s all connected. And the moment has come for a reckoning.”
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