The British Referee Board (PGMOL) has released a recording showing exactly what happened when the referee canceled Luis Diaz’s (Liverpool) valid goal.
In the match between Tottenham and Liverpool, Luis Diaz scored a beautiful goal at the end of the first half, but the referee determined he was in an offside position and did not recognize this goal. VAR referee Darren England and VAR Assistant Dan Cook rechecked the situation and then informed referee Simon Hooper.
However, due to a misunderstanding, referee Hooper did not recognize the goal for Diaz. This mistake made Liverpool and this team’s fans very angry.
The British Board of Referees (PGMOL) recently published a conversation between VAR assistants and the main referee after Luis Diaz’s goal was not recognized.
PGMOL admitted the referee’s serious mistake. They drew the line and determined that Diaz was not offside, but inaccurate communication, along with a loss of concentration, caused the information to be distorted. Referee Hooper made the decision without asking the VAR assistant.
Ultimately, the way PGMOL handled this was to suspend VAR referee Darren England and assistant Dan Cook and issue an apology.
PGMOL said it will conduct a review of the circumstances that led to this incorrect result and will learn lessons to minimize the risk of similar errors occurring in the future.
Below is a summary of what the referees said in the released recording:
Assistant referee 1: Waiting. Pause, pause.
VAR: Possibly offside, Diaz.
VAR: Only checks for offside. Stop the match.
VAR: Draw a 2D line to determine departure. Add this corner too. Alright.
Video operator: Is that okay? Is it okay to have a corner like that?
VAR: Stop. Check completed. That’s good, perfect.
Assistant referee 1: Continue the match.
Referee: Well done, guys.
Video operator: Wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside. Any problems?
VAR assistant: Yes, that goal was offside which was wrong.
VAR: What?
VAR assistant: Wrong, the referee made a mistake and determined the player was offside.
VAR: Oh, seriously…
Video operator: Postpone the match. Postpone the match!
VAR: There’s nothing we can do.
VAR assistant: The match has continued, there is nothing more that can be done.