Liverpool have slammed the ‘unacceptable’ officiating in their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and say they are ‘exploring all options’ in response to the admissions of failure.
The PGMOL statement in the aftermath of Liverpool’s 2-1 loss in north London was received with incredulity at Anfield, the Merseyside club arguing the integrity of the result has been compromised by the inability to enact the laws of the game.
The failure to award Luis Diaz’s goal was accentuated by the officials taking no action to correct their error and allowing the game to continue, raising questions about the Var process and protocols.
In a strongly worded statement, Liverpool said “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.
“We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of Var. It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.
“That such failings have already been categorised as “significant human error” is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.
“This is vital for the reliability of future decision making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again. In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”
Liverpool are understood to be keen to hear the audio of the Var conversations during and in the immediate aftermath of the offside decision against Diaz. There are also concerns regarding appointments of match officials, with the two Var officials employed having worked in the UAE two days before being given a high profile fixture.
