The controversial VAR decision that left everyone stunned this past weekend was only made worse when the full recording was made public on Tuesday. Now Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool boss, has stated that the game against Tottenham Hotspur should be replayed.
Jurgen Klopp wants the game replayed
The Premier League has been under fire from the Reds’ manager since Luis Diaz’s goal was chalked off after a mix-up by the video assistant referee. Darren England was the man in charge of the off-the-pitch call, alongside his own assistant Dan Cook.
The move to replay the game would be unprecedented. BBC Sport website reported, “Something like this never happened, so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do,” said Klopp. It is unlikely that the game would be ordered to be played again, but harsh lessons have to be learned from this incident.
In fact, there has been no formal request to do so. “At this stage, we are still going through the information we have.” Added the Liverpool gaffer. “The audio didn’t change it at all. It is an obvious mistake. There should be solutions for that. The outcome should be a replay. But it probably won’t happen. The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened.”
Liverpool went on to lose the game, 2-1, in added-on time. The condemnation of the call came from far and wide. The PGMOL audio recording only made matters worse, making them look incompetent, and said that it was down to a “lapse of concentration and loss of focus.”
It is easy to accept that this was a genuine error, and nothing malicious. This would lead to Klopp raising the “integrity of the game” being undermined and that a fresh game be played to correct this. “These things should not happen. Other mistakes should not happen. Find a solution to deal with it. We rush them, and we get a quick decision, but the wrong decision. I am not angry with anybody at all,” said Klopp. “They made a mistake, and they felt horrible that night, I am 100% sure. That’s enough, for me. Nobody needs further punishment.”
“Incomprehensible,” says Shearer
Match of the Day pundit, and all-time leading Premier League top scorer Alan Shearer, went as far as saying the call was “incomprehensible” and added. “The one bit of VAR that we have accepted, learnt and can’t argue about is the offside. Now, this is going to put so much doubt into decisions that have gone on beforehand and in the future because of this. It is a monumental error; he is clearly onside. We actually spotted straight away within a second or two that it’s not offside.”