Dermot Gallagher gives verdict on Liverpool VAR recording and what must happen next
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes VAR could have asked a simple question to prevent the error of not awarding Liverpool a goal.
The audio recordings of discussions between the match officials around Luis Diaz's disallowed goal against Tottenham were made public on Tuesday night. The PGMOL released the recordings just hours after sending them to Liverpool.
Diaz was flagged offside after scoring, but replays showed he was actually onside. But Darren England, the VAR, mistakenly believed the on-field decision had been to award the goal, leading him to tell Simon Hooper, the referee, that the check was complete.
Following the incident in Saturday's Premier League game, which Spurs won 2-1, Liverpool said "sporting integrity has been undermined". The ECHO also understands that the Anfield club also received an apology from PGMOL chief Howard Webb.
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Reacting to the release of the recordings on Sky Sports News, Gallagher believes the failure to ask what the on-field decision was was the reason behind the cock-up.
He said: "It was a terrible mistake to make. Everyone has acknowledged that.
"It's now about the process, and one of the processes is they will have to undertake from now is the VAR will have to ask the referee: 'What is the on-field decision?'
"If that little question had been asked and [Simon Hooper] said "offside" then you've got a starting point. Then you can go forward.
“Unfortunately, because that question wasn't asked, they were under the impression the goal had been given on the field, and that's how everything unfolded."
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