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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>Diaz goal disallowed in north London</li><li>Match officials got big decision wrong</li><li>Questions asked of current system</li></ul><script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script>

‘Judgement skewed’ – Liverpool Supporters Union question VAR trip to UAE in call for change following controversial clash with Tottenham & PGMOL apology

The Reds saw a goal from Luis Diaz wrongly ruled out against Spurs, with those at Stockley Park making a baffling “check complete” call, while <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/liverpool-face-fine-despite-victims-var-farce-controversial-tottenham-defeat/blt41b3d759091f978e" target="_blank">also seeing Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota sent off</a> in a dramatic 2-1 defeat in north London.

WHAT HAPPENED?

<a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/luis-diaz-goal-liverpool-tottenham-should-have-stood-pgmol/blt03f532450c7b11df" target="_blank">PGMOL issued an apology</a> afterwards – <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/news/explained-var-unbelievable-error-nine-man-liverpool-suffered-heartbreak-spurs/blt5fa8f6b635f38be3" target="_blank">admitting that Diaz’s effort should have stood</a> – but that is of little consolation to Liverpool and their disgruntled fan base. Spirit of Shankly have said in <a href="https://spiritofshankly.com/youre-not-fit-to-referee/" target="_blank">a statement titled ‘You’re not fit to referee’</a>: “A terrace refrain knocking about in one guise or another since the days of the football special. Officials make mistakes, everyone of us makes those, but to limit them on the football field, we have VAR. The introduction of technology as a back-up to erase in-the-moment human error, yet we get decisions like that made on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.“Shortly after full-time PGMOL issued a statement: 'A significant human error occurred,' it said. 'A clear and obvious factual error… PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.' VAR officials are a team, why didn’t one of them spot the error and overrule the decision? Where is the consistency? Where were the lines – the lines we see ‘drawn’ with every debatable goal? Where was the communication? VAR thought the goal had been given on the pitch so for them, ‘check complete’ affirmed it. But it was the opposite and the referee assumed his original decision of no goal was correct.”

WHAT THEY SAID

They added: “VAR and the PGMOL are blatantly not fit for purpose. There’s to be an investigation but to what end? This isn’t about individuals, it’s about the process. And it is not the first time an apology has been given this season – Wolves non-penalty at Manchester United – a season not yet two months old. Any trust in the process has gone. So where do we go from here? The practice of VAR has to be clear, protocols set – for offside, cards, time wasting, images and replays standardised so that those involved know what needs to be done. A semi-automated offside system is required, as used in the Champions League and at the last World Cup but vetoed by Premier League clubs at the start of the season, to remove ‘human error’ so subjective decisions are overruled. Because such decisions can have huge consequences.“PGMOL should not be able to police themselves, an independent group needs to be set up and the audio from yesterday released to stop accusations of corrupt officials that will otherwise continue to grow. Both of the VAR officials involved at Tottenham had worked at a game in the UAE, with other Premier League referees, on Thursday. Who approved and paid for these trips? Was his judgement skewed because of fatigue after travelling? Supporters, who’ve forked out a lot of money to watch their team, are expected to suck it up, accept incompetence and move on. But this isn’t just about what happened on Saturday, it’s about the integrity of the game. We’ve been promised a ‘review’ but it’s change we need. Fans of all clubs must unite, put tribalism aside because blinkered views will lead us nowhere, and lobby to bring about that change. Now.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

PGMOL have been forced to issue apologies on a regular basis of late, with there admittance on their part that wrong decisions are being made in big, potentially match-altering moments. Calls for change are now growing in intensity, with it not just Liverpool supporters that have bones to pick with and serious questions to ask of the current processes regarding technology in Premier League football.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

‘Judgement skewed’ – Liverpool Supporters Union question VAR trip to UAE in call for change following controversial clash with Tottenham & PGMOL apology | Goal.com Australia

Liverpool Supporters Union ‘Spirit of Shankly’ have questioned a VAR trip to the UAE which took place prior to a controversial clash with Tottenham.

‘Judgement skewed’ – Liverpool Supporters Union question VAR trip to UAE in call for change following controversial clash with Tottenham &amp; PGMOL apology