Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool: VAR believed Luis Diaz goal had been ruled onside
PGMOL has admitted «significant human error» behind Diaz's goal being ruled out; VAR team mistakenly thought on-field decision had been to award goal; Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher ask why game wasn't stopped
Sunday 1 October 2023 09:12, UK
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Luis Diaz's goal for Liverpool at Tottenham was incorrectly disallowed for offside after the VAR mistakenly believed that the on-field decision had been to award the goal.
The PGMOL admitted immediately after Tottenham's 2-1 win that «a significant human error occurred» when Diaz's strike was ruled out and «this was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention.»
It was initially believed that VAR Darren England had failed to check whether a Tottenham defender had played Diaz onside by drawing the on-screen lines.
But, in a remarkable twist, it has now emerged that the VAR incorrectly thought the on-field decision was that a goal had been awarded, when in fact it hadn't been. This resulted in England, despite realising that Diaz was onside, relaying a message of 'check complete' and the goal being ruled out.
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It remains unknown when England and Assistant VAR Dan Cook first realised their mistake. Following England's message of 'check complete' to on-field referee Simon Cooper, the game restarted less than a minute after Diaz had scored his goal with a free-kick to Tottenham.
With the game 'live' again, it's thought that the VAR team felt unable to intervene.
The IFAB rules on VAR state play can't be brought back in a case like this. Rule 10 says: «If play has stopped and been restarted, the referee
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