Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes referees and video assistant referees should “step back” and “be more humble” in the wake of the Liverpool VAR controversy.
The fallout continues after a VAR error on Sunday that saw a Luis Diaz goal against Tottenham incorrectly ruled out.
VAR Darren England and assistant VAR Dan Cook have been stood down for this weekend’s fixtures after what referees’ body PGMOL called a “significant human error,” while Liverpool have requested to receive the audio of the exchange between referee Simon Hooper and those in the VAR room at Stockley Park.
That request has been granted and the recording is set to be made public in due course.
Asked about the incident ahead of City’s Champions League trip to RB Leipzig on Wednesday, Guardiola suggested that the game’s focus had drifted too much from the players on the field.
He said: “They will have to find (a way) for the main role to be played by the players and the game itself, in all the countries not just here.
“The referees and VAR are the leading roles. ‘And the Oscar goes to… ‘
“They have to make a step back. It’s the players, and sometimes there are games where sometimes just being more humble and doing what they have to do, they will do it better. They will do it better.”
Liverpool’s goal was wrongly disallowed (Sky Sports)
Guardiola said he felt that VAR had impacted the accountability of referees and empathised with Liverpool.
He added: “It changed the job of the referees because now they don’t make the decisions, the important decisions are made by VAR. But then if VAR makes a mistake you have a problem.
“I understand completely how upset Liverpool in this case must be. The bosses of the referees will decide what we have to do and we will follow them.”
Liverpool vs PGMOL: What do the club hope to achieve after VAR row?
In a strongly-worded statement on Sunday, Liverpool argued that sporting integrity had been “undermined” and said they would “explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
But what did Liverpool hope to achieve with that statement and what kind of resolution would satisfy them?
The Athletic has contacted a number of senior figures at the club – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – to get a clearer idea of the answers to those questions.
James Pearce explains all below.
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Liverpool vs PGMOL: What do the club hope to achieve after VAR row?
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