Ange Postecoglou sympathised with Liverpool’s plight and, in particular, the loss of what he termed a ‘legitimate goal’ for the Merseysiders during their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.
Speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Luton Town on Saturday, the Australian expressed his hope that the individuals involved wouldn’t
“The facts of it are that it was a legitimate goal Liverpool scored that wasn’t given,” the Spurs boss told reporters, as quoted by Tottenham and Wood Green Independent.
“You kind of look at why it’s not given because that’s the first thing you question: obviously something has broken down.
“It became clear it wasn’t an integrity issue, it wasn’t a misappropriation of the law, it was an error in communication, a mistake, a mistake which cost Liverpool.”
Postecoglou went on to add: “When listening to that you probably think there’s better ways of communicating a clear decision in such a big situation.
I hope that’s what they’re addressing, not the individual that made the mistake. I think that’s a dereliction of the game.
“That’s like me hanging out a player to dry just because he made a mistake.
“My role is to go in and help that player to improve not say ‘now you’re never playing again’.”
Darren England has since been reportedly banned from officiating games involving Liverpool, with the PGMOL implementing changes to VAR protocol.
VOTE for Empire of the Kop as Best Club Content Creator (Premier League) here: Football Content Awards OR on X with Empire’s one-click X link with: I am voting in @The_FCAs for @empireofthekop in Best Club Content Creator (Premier League)
READ MORE: Graeme Souness says Jurgen Klopp just emulated Alex Ferguson with ‘master’ move
It’s a challenging situation to face given the level of ineptitude on display from the individual in question, regardless of whether or not protocols enabled him to rectify the error or not.
The officiating body should still be applauded for its decision to evolve for the benefit of the game – albeit only after significant pressure from Liverpool – though it’s difficult to imagine the human side of the error equation being completely eradicated.
At some stage, we’re going to have to see the quality of officials overseeing the most popular league in world football addressed.
Darren England shouldn’t have to lose his job, but nor should fans, coaches and players be forced to put up with substandard officiating levels in perpetuity.
🤩 EOTK FPL Gameweek 7 Review 🤩: Disaster for Liverpool, captain Watkins? Injuries piling up…
It was aclear goal,but the question is how can all the officials make the same mustake.