In absurd circumstances, Liverpool’s goal against Spurs on Saturday was overturned after VAR authorities mistook the on-field decision to allow the strike to stand.
Following the PGMOL’s publication of the astonishing audio that preceded Liverpool’s goal against Tottenham being disallowed, the Premier League is preparing to make three significant modifications to the VAR procedure.
After Luis Diaz appeared to have given the Reds the lead, VAR officials Darren England and Dan Cook instructed referee Simon Hooper to uphold the on-field decision. The couple, however, were unaware that the flag had been raised, and by the time they understood their grave blunder, play had already resumed.
Despite requests from VAR Hub Ops chief Oli Kohout to stop the action and correct the error, it was too late to reverse the call according to the wording of the law. The Premier League promised adjustments in how the technology is used as a result of the incident’s catastrophic repercussions.
According to a Premier League spokesperson, “it is clear that there were not only human errors but systemic weaknesses in the VAR process after reviewing all relevant footage of the disallowed Luis Diaz goal during the Tottenham Hotspur FC versus Liverpool FC match on Saturday. In order to prevent similar failures from happening again in the future, we adopt PGMOL’s early suggestions.
“However, the Premier League and PGMOL will conduct a wider review to seek consistently higher standards of VAR performance, supported by other stakeholders, and where necessary, further recommended actions will be brought forward and implemented,” the statement continued.
The Premier League has disclosed some of the adjustments, including the addition of an additional layer of checks so that the VAR will now double-check it with his assistant. The decision won’t be communicated to the referee until that point.
Instead of asking referees to do both on- and off-file tasks, a new team of focused VAR professionals will be developed. Finally, top-flight executives have promised to “review” the decision to allow Premier League officials to officiate matches without UEFA or FIFA nominations.
The latter review comes in the wake of information indicating that England and Cook were given permission to watch a game in the United Arab Emirates last Thursday before returning to the UK on Friday. It has given rise to claims that the two were mentally drained while playing crucial roles in a Premier League match.
The PGMOL’s choice to release the audio at Liverpool’s request is unusual so far. The pressure on Howard Webb to make sure that conversations between referees and VAR officials are televised live for more openness has increased as a result.