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Liverpool's manager, Jurgen Klopp, voiced his frustrations regarding the controversial VAR decisions during the team's match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, September 30.
In a tumultuous Premier League encounter, Liverpool faced a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Tottenham. The match's narrative was heavily influenced by contentious VAR decisions, putting the match official, Darren England, under scrutiny.
A pivotal moment that stirred debate took place in the 33rd minute. With Liverpool reduced to ten players after Curtis Jones received a red card, Luis Diaz seemed to have netted a goal. But, to the team's dismay, on-field officials quickly ruled it offside. What added to the intrigue was the absence of the usual offside line graphic during the VAR review, causing significant ambiguity.
Post-match revelations saw the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) admitting to a glaring oversight. They confirmed that denying Liverpool's goal was an evident error, and VAR should have intervened to validate it.
Liverpool's tactician, Klopp, did not mince words while expressing his concerns over the "crazy decisions" that overshadowed the game.
"The (Diaz) offside goal. That's not offside when you see it. They drew their lines wrong," said Klopp as quoted by Reuters.
"The ball's between Mo's (Salah's) legs. They ... didn't judge the moment when Mo passed the ball right. It's so tough to deal with it.
"We scored an own goal, that's really tough to take... The first red card, Curtis steps on the ball and goes over. Not a bad tackle. It looks different in slow motion. He steps full throttle on the ball and goes over the ball. That's unlucky," he added.
He was particularly critical of Diogo Jota's dismissal. While Jota received two yellow cards, Klopp opined that the first one was uncalled for, suggesting that Destiny Udogie had seemingly taken a self-inflicted fall.
"(Jota's) first yellow was not a yellow. Then he gets a second and to defend with eight outfield players is tricky," said Klopp.
The incident has brought VAR and its implementation back into the spotlight, with fans and football enthusiasts debating its efficacy and consistency.
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