Webb became the head of VAR operations in the MLS in March 2017, a post he held up until last summer before returning to England to become the PMOL’s chief refereeing officer.

During his time in the United States, Webb was forced to issue an apology and replay a league fixture after a costly error was made during the 90 minutes of play. Indeed, a USL Championship contest between Miami FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds in October 2021 ended 0-0, though the latter were denied what was a legitimate goal.

 

Officials awarded a goal to Pittsburgh after a Miami free-kick ended up with one of their players passing the ball back to the goalkeeper, who failed to control the ball and saw it roll into the net. Rules state that a ball that crosses the line directly from a free-kick results in a corner for the opposition side, though this set-piece was first played short to a second player before making its way past the keeper and therefore should have stood.

 

The match officials incorrectly applied the rule relating to free-kick scenarios, leaving Pittsburgh coach Bob Lilley frustrated. “[The referees] said it was the first pass, but it wasn’t, clearly,” he said. “We’ve seen it, [Miami coach] Paul Dalglish (son of Kenny) has seen it, and even he said it was a goal. It was a perfectly good goal.”

 

After a review of this error, the game was resumed at a later time from the 67th minute, one minute after the own goal happened, with Pittsburgh leading 1-0.

Although Klopp doesn’t have high hopes that Liverpool will be able to enjoy the same luxury, it remains to be seen whether they will. The Reds’ manager said the following during his pre-game news conference before tonight’s Europa League encounter against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise: