In the wake of the controversial 2-1 defeat against Tottenham, Liverpool is exploring avenues to address the erroneously disallowed goal by VAR officials during their Premier League clash. The VAR error, which led to the disallowance of Luis Diaz’s goal for offside, was acknowledged by PGMOL as a ‘significant human error.’ Liverpool deemed this decision unacceptable and expressed their intent to seek justice by exploring their available options.
Sports lawyer Stephen Taylor Heath, co-head of law firm JMW Solicitors, suggests that Liverpool could press for a replay of the match. According to Heath, the Premier League board holds the authority to order a match replay if recommended by an appointed commission. However, Liverpool may encounter a challenge in rule W1 of the Premier League’s statutes, which allows the board to request further information on possible rule breaches, including those made by officials.
Heath highlighted a crucial aspect of the incident where VAR officials initially believed the on-field decision was to award the goal to Liverpool, resulting in their failure to overturn the offside call. Despite clear replays showing Diaz in an onside position, the VAR team chose not to correct the error and continued the game. Heath suggests that had the officials immediately recognized the error and communicated it to players and staff, Tottenham’s manager could have allowed Liverpool to score unchallenged, as seen in previous instances where sportsmanship prevailed.
However, Heath notes that Liverpool’s case might struggle as there was no actual breach of the rules, only a miscommunication error. Establishing that the mistake directly cost Liverpool points in a legal sense could be challenging, given the multiple factors that can influence the outcome of a match.
