Tottenham – The Empire of The Kop

Manchester City reporter compares Luis Diaz VAR travesty to Grealish chance vs. Spurs; references replay

Peter Kenny Jones — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 14:14:09 +0000

Liverpool were at the wrong end of the biggest injustice in the VAR era as a goal that should have been given was chalked off, one reporter believes Manchester City have now been as harshly treated too.

Taking to his X account, Sam Lee – the Man City correspondent for The Athletic – wrote: ‘The refereeing at the end yesterday was a genuine, massive mistake. Like the one in Tottenham v Liverpool.

‘But City’s biggest concern is that if they were able to replay the Spurs game, it would probably end 3-3 again’.

Not only is this a hugely disproportionate reaction, to mention a possible replay is simply ludicrous – even if it is meant as a joke.

For anyone who hasn’t seen, Erling Haaland sent a ball over the top of the Tottenham defence to allow Jack Grealish a run at goal.

The referee decided to pull the game back though and didn’t allow the chance to play out, leading to understandable levels of frustration from those inside the Etihad Stadium.

Seeing as the former Aston Villa man didn’t score a goal anyway, nor was it abundantly clear he would outpace an on rushing defender, this is nowhere near the incident where Luis Diaz’s goal was incorrectly chalked off.

We scored a goal which would have changed the face of the game, one that we ended up with nine men and a last minute own goal to lose the only match we’ve been defeated in this season.

Although, it appears, these comments are a little tongue-in-cheek, it shows a real lack of understanding from the rest of the teams and supporters.

Had everyone backed our push to create more change within VAR, the PGMOL and refereeing as a whole in this country, we may have seen more changes.

Instead everyone left us to do it alone and are now reaping the rewards of their lack of support.

You can view the comments on Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham via @SamLee on X:

The refereeing at the end yesterday was a genuine, massive mistake. Like the one in Tottenham v Liverpool. But City’s biggest concern is that if they were able to replay the Spurs game, it would probably end 3-3 againhttps://t.co/LHoqSl1u0v

— Sam Lee (@SamLee) December 4, 2023

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Gary Neville saw something even ‘worse’ last night than in Liverpool game earlier this season

Liam Togher — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 11:41:59 +0000

Gary Neville was appalled by one thing he witnessed in the most recent round of Premier League games, describing it as ‘worse’ than an incident in a match involving Liverpool earlier in the season.

At the end of September, Curtis Jones was the first of two Reds players to be sent off in the 2-1 defeat at Tottenham, when the 22-year-old was given his marching orders for a foul on Yves Bissouma.

At the same venue last night, another red card which was upgraded from yellow following a VAR review saw Cristian Romero dismissed for an over-the-top lunge on compatriot Enzo Fernandez as Spurs became the last top-flight team to taste defeat this term, going down 1-4 at home to Chelsea.

Neville was on co-commentary for Sky Sports for the all-London clash on Monday and he was horrified by the Argentine’s foul on his international teammate, comparing it unfavourably to the Liverpool midfielder’s dismissal a few weeks ago.

The 48-year-old said of Romero’s tackle (via Liverpool World): “If you go back to Curtis Jones’ challenge a few weeks ago that I thought was harsh, this one was worse.”

There are definitely some similarities between the two incidents – both were initial yellow card fouls which were changed to red after VAR intervention deemed them to be dangerous lunges, and both took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, when looking at the two tackles in isolation, Neville is right in saying that Romero’s was worse than the one for which Jones was sent off.

The Liverpool midfielder did catch Bissouma high, but he was making a genuine attempt to get the ball and his foot slipped, whereas last night Spurs’ Argentine defender completely missed the ball and caught Fernandez square on the shin.

It would’ve been baffling had the 25-year-old got away with a yellow card when the Reds ace was dismissed for what he did a few weeks ago, but VAR John Brooks correctly intervened and advised Michael Oliver to upgrade the Tottenham man’s indiscretion to red.

Plenty of refereeing decisions are subjective and open to interpretation, but in the search for greater consistency (or even just some consistency when it comes to the Premier League), some calls appear blatantly obvious.

Romero’s sending off against Chelsea falls into that category when weighed up against Jones’ at the same venue earlier in the season.

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Report: ‘Class act’ who’s starring at EPL ‘big 6’ club was nearly prepared to join Liverpool in 2022

Liam Togher — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:48:42 +0000

One player who’s starring for a club billed among the Premier League’s so-called ‘big 6’ was reportedly prepared to join Liverpool last year.

On Friday, The Telegraph‘s Jason Burt published an article looking at how Tottenham’s fortunes have been transformed under Ange Postecoglou, with last season’s eighth-place finishers topping the table 10 matches in to the current campaign.

That rise is all the more remarkable considering the sale of club-record goalscorer Harry Kane over the summer, but his replacement as captain has excelled, with Son Heung-min already netting eight goals this term (Transfermarkt).

However, were it not for a sliding doors moment 18 months ago, the South Korea forward could now be playing at Liverpool rather than in north London.

Burt wrote: “For some time Son had been considering his own options. If Spurs had not made the Champions League in 2022, when they dramatically pipped Arsenal to fourth place under [Antonio] Conte, then Son would likely have left. Liverpool were sniffing around and it is thought he was interested.”

Having been hailed as a ‘class act’ by some Spurs supporters for his amicable nature (Daily Mail), along with racking up an impressive haul of 153 goals and counting for his current club (Transfermarkt), Son could well have been a dream addition to Jurgen Klopp’s squad had he opted to join Liverpool last year.

The 31-year-old has been a nightmare for the Reds to handle, scoring in five of his last six matches against us (Transfermarkt), and he’s revelled in stepping into the limelight vacated by Kane’s move to Bayern Munich.

It’s intriguing to think of just how prolific he could’ve been had he come to Anfield, but thankfully LFC can boast a range of formidable attacking options, with Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo all bolstering the forward line since the start of 2022.

Liverpool’s front five have scored 30 goals between them already since the start of the season, and while Son would certainly have been a welcome addition for us, it’s not as if Spurs pipping Arsenal for the final Champions League place in May of last year will go down as a huge ‘what if’ moment in our history.

Just please stop scoring against us, mate!

EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre ticks a box, Liverpool have a ‘real top player’ with Kevin De Bruyne gift, unfair treatment of Nunez and much more!

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94.3% pass success, top of the table – £50k-p/w gem has been thriving since Liverpool summer snub

Liam Togher — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 10:44:56 +0000

While Liverpool successfully revamped their midfield with four new signings during the summer transfer window, they failed to strengthen their defensive ranks despite attempting to do so.

One centre-back with whom they were strongly linked was Micky van de Ven, who had been recommended to the club by sporting director Jorg Schmadtke, the man who brought him to Wolfsburg in 2021 (TEAMtalk).

However, the £50,000-per-week defender (Capology) grew impatient with the Reds’ delay in making a move for him, and once Tottenham communicated their interest, the Dutchman jumped at the chance to join Ange Postecoglou’s side (TEAMtalk).

It’s a decision for which numerous Spurs fans have been thankful, judging by the reactions on social media to his latest performance for the club (via Football Insider).

Van de Ven has been ever-present for his new side in the Premier League thus far, and he’s already bagged one winning goal for them, netting the decisive strike against Luton earlier this month (Transfermarkt).

He gave another assured display in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Fulham last night, which put them back on top of the table, completing 61 of his 66 passes (92% success), winning three duels and making five clearances and two tackles (Sofascore).

As impressive as that passing return was, it actually falls below his incredible average of 94.3% in the division so far and is the fifth-highest of anyone to have started three or more games in the current top-flight campaign (WhoScored).

The 22-year-old also has a very respectable match average of 1.4 successful aerial duels, bettered by only three players at Liverpool (WhoScored), and he misplaced just one pass out of 54 in Spurs’ win against us at the end of September (Sofascore).

Van de Ven has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, and even with Jurgen Klopp having some very capable centre-backs at Anfield, he might still be regretting the Reds’ hesitancy to move for the Dutchman, thus allowing Tottenham to swoop for what already looks a tremendous coup.

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(Video) Jamie Carragher taunts James Maddison with replay question on Sky Sports

Liam Togher — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 06:50:17 +0000

Jamie Carragher took the opportunity to exchange some banter with James Maddison regarding the recent Tottenham v Liverpool clash during last night’s MNF coverage on Sky Sports.

The Spurs midfielder – who scored in their 2-0 win over Fulham to send them back to the Premier League summit – was speaking to the broadcaster after the match, and the Bottle native couldn’t help but taunt him over the fallout from September’s controversial game in north London.

The VAR saga over Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal when the Reds lost 2-1 to Ange Postecoglou’s side led to Jurgen Klopp suggesting that a replay would be justified, although that ship has long since sailed.

Nonetheless, Carragher referenced it when speaking to Maddison last night, saying: “You’ve got a big game [on] Friday. There’s a long way to go but you’ve done really well. How do you think you’ll get on in that replay against Liverpool?”

The Spurs midfielder reacted with a smile: “I just know by the tone of Carra’s voice…”, with the rest of his sentence drowned out by loud laughter from those in the Sky studio.

The idea of the Tottenham-Liverpool game being replayed was never realistically a goer, so Carragher’s jibe was clearly meant in good faith.

In fairness to Maddison, that’s exactly how he took it, and he wasn’t afraid to have a friendly dig back at the pundit, which the former Reds defender clearly enjoyed!

You can view the exchange below, via @SkySportsPL on Twitter/X:

James Maddison's reaction to that @Carra23 question pic.twitter.com/2Ut4oLe20K

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 23, 2023

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‘Absolutely insane’ – Spurs player admits ‘big mistake’ was made in controversial win v Liverpool

Liam Togher — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:36:34 +0000

One Tottenham player has admitted that a ‘big mistake’ was made in their 2-1 victory over Liverpool last month, but also described refereeing controversies as ‘part of the game’.

The match in north London was dominated by the fallout from Luis Diaz’s legitimate goal being wrongly disallowed for offside, with a subsequent VAR review failing to overturn the decision due to a bizarre misunderstanding which was made public when the audio of the conversation was released.

Dejan Kulusevski was in the victorious Spurs line-up and he was asked about Jurgen Klopp’s subsequent advocating of a replay when speaking to Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen (via Liverpool Echo).

The 23-year-old said: “It was just a mistake, and they were very angry that they got zero points even though they played a good game, and I understand them. [A replay] has probably never happened and I don’t think it will happen.

“There are so many mistakes every match, it’s absolutely insane. Sure, it was a big mistake in a top game and they were obviously very disappointed because it affected the game. But I can find mistakes in every match. So it’s part of the game and you move on.”

At least Kulusevski was honest enough to acknowledge that the officials’ failings were ‘a big mistake’ even if Tottenham benefitted, but we doubt that he’d write it off as ‘part of the game’ if it were his team on the receiving end of the farcical events of that evening.

What’s perhaps more worrying on a broad scale is his remark that ‘there are so many mistakes [in] every match’, as if to say that the standard of refereeing has deteriorated to the point where errors are met with shoulder-shrugging acceptance, such is their regularity.

Human error is a part of life, but the astounding dereliction of duty by the officials in the Spurs-Liverpool game can’t be dismissed as ‘one of those things’. It was a moment of incompetence on a staggering scale and, given how high the stakes are at the top of the Premier League, can’t be readily excused.

Kulusevski is right in saying that every football match will have some decisions which’ll annoy players, management and fans, but there’s a world of difference between a 50-50 judgement and a blunder of inexplicable proportions. What happened with Diaz’s disallowed goal falls into the latter category.

We’ll never get the points back and we’ll have to roll with the gut-punching result from the Tottenham game, but the shambles surrounding the VAR operation that evening simply can’t be allowed to happen again.

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Luis Diaz breaks silence on notorious disallowed goal with admirable level-headedness

Liam Togher — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:25:21 +0000

Liverpool forward Luis Diaz has broken his public silence on the goal he wrongly had disallowed in the Reds’ recent 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.

The 26-year-old was incorrectly flagged for offside just as he dispatched the ball to the net for what would’ve been the opener, and the subsequent VAR shambles which ensued served only to heighten the frustration for anyone of an LFC perspective.

Upon reporting for national team duty with Colombia, he was asked about that notorious incident, reflecting upon it with admirable grace and level-headedness.

Diaz told El Heraldo: “The goal issue was a bit complicated. At the time it hit me very hard, but not only for me, but for all my colleagues. In the middle of the game we talked a lot about it, it was a positive result that was going to help us.

“These are things that happen, referees are human. We have to take it easy and it will be next time.”

Diaz must be an absolute saint to look back upon such an inexcusably daft error from the match officials with such poise and maturity. Even allowing for the passage of a few days since the incident, many other players might well have been spitting fire had it happened to them.

The Liverpool forward knows that, as unjust as it was, there’s nothing he or his team can now do about the events in north London, other than use it as a motivator to hoover up the points we could’ve had if things had transpired differently that evening.

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It was the result of genuine human error, but nonetheless had serious consequences, and those responsible for the goal being disallowed need to learn from their lapses in judgement.

Hopefully when we’re talking about Diaz after the international break, we’ll be talking about him banging in goals for the Reds which actually do stand.

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Officials in the spotlight again over another costly Liverpool error after findings of EPL panel

Liam Togher — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:07:23 +0000

In a week which has seen the officials involved in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham last Saturday heavily scrutinised over a series of controversial incidents, an independent panel has found that referee Simon Hooper got one big decision wrong.

We all know by now about the VAR-induced mess over Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal, while the Reds’ appeal against Curtis Jones’ red card has been rejected.

As per ESPN, the Premier League’s Independent Key Match Incidents Panel has ruled that the other dismissal in that game was erroneous, finding that Diogo Jota’s booking for a foul on Destiny Udogie didn’t merit his second yellow card of the evening.

The five-person panel – comprising three former players and/coaches and one representative each from the EPL and PGMOL – voted 3-2 that the decision ‘did not meet the threshold for a yellow card’.

It was actually Jota’s first ‘offence’ – when Udogie tripped himself in breaking away from the Liverpool attacker – which caused more consternation among Reds fans, with a belief that his second booking was reckless in light of his initial yellow card.

However, as per ESPN, the panel doesn’t make judgements on a first bookable offence if a player is sent off for two yellows, so they were left to solely adjudicate on the 26-year-old’s latter caution.

It says a lot about the performance of the officials at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Saturday that even the least inexplicable of the major decisions made by Hooper and the VAR team is still independently deemed to have been incorrect.

The panel’s findings will come as little consolation to Jota, who’s now suspended for the tough trip to Brighton on Sunday when Liverpool will also be without Cody Gakpo through injury, thus depriving Jurgen Klopp of two attackers.

Between this latest report, on top of the contentious red card for Jones and the utterly farcical events around Diaz’s disallowed goal, the officials unfortunately continue to be in the spotlight nearly a week on from the match in north London.

We don’t want to be castigating referees, who unselfishly play a massive role in football throughout the country, but we need them to do better than last weekend so that their profession isn’t brought into disrepute and teams aren’t feeling slighted over mistakes which shouldn’t be happening.

#Ep93 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Steve Kay

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Premier League’s stance on Liverpool replay is actually wrong and here’s why – opinion

Farrell Keeling — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 19:25:22 +0000

It’s reportedly understood that there is ‘no chance’ of the Premier League allowing Liverpool to replay their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

That’s according to a tweet from BBC reporter Simon Stone, which, although accurate as far as likely outcomes are concerned, might be slightly wide of the mark when it comes to the legality of the matter.

To be clear, no chance of Premier League actually granting Liverpool a replay. That was position in immediate aftermath and not changed.

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) October 4, 2023

When the question was put to JMW Solicitors’ co-head of Sports Law, Stephen Taylor Heath, the point was raised that there is some room for interpretation on the matter: “Rule L18 outlines that the Premier League board has the power to order a league match to be replayed provided that recommendation to that effect has been made by a commission under rule W51.

“In addition to this, under rule W1, the Premier League’s board has the power to inquire about any suspected breach of rules, including those made by a match official, while rule N4 ensures that each match official agrees to be bound by the laws of the game as well as any protocols and FA rules.

“There is therefore a possibility that Liverpool could lobby the Premier League board to convene a commission which would have the power, among others, to order the match to be replayed.”

That said, the legal whizz in question did note that it would be a challenge for Jurgen Klopp’s outfit to prove that they had been denied points given ‘infinite scenarios’ that could possibly arise from a game of football.

Where does this leave Liverpool?

In short? In a quagmire of sorts, were they to attempt to seek some kind of legal recourse.

Though our German tactician did note that a replay would be a possible solution worth exploring, the key point that seems to have been rather outrageously overlooked by much of the media is that the standard of officiating in this country is in dire need of improvement.

How we start the process is really quite simple – by collectively putting a foot down and challenging the alarming status quo.

Simon Hooper observes footage of Curtis Jones’ tackle on Yves Bissouma – (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

It’s a giant pity that collaboration has come in the form of rival fans blowing a gasket at Liverpool for daring to question the integrity of match officials.

Make no mistake though: an improvement in the general standard of officiating in the Premier League would be a boon to all – not just us!

As far as we’re concerned at Empire of the Kop, you can keep your replay. Keep the points and Luis Diaz’s goal for all we care. We just want to be able to watch a game of football without fear of the post-match chat being dominated by tales of woe woven by inept VAR operators and/or spineless refereeing performances.

After all, for those in the ground or watching via broadcaster subscription, neither are paying for the latter, are they?

#Ep93 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Steve Kay

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Sky Sports reporter highlights ‘really significant’ point about Jurgen Klopp’s replay comments

Liam Togher — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:20:27 +0000

Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett has highlighted that Jurgen Klopp was ‘calm’ and ‘measured’ when he advocated for Liverpool’s controversial 2-1 defeat at Tottenham to be replayed.

After four days of recriminations, VAR embarrassment and PGMOL audio, the Reds manager used today’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Europa League clash against Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday to call for a replay of last Saturday’s fixture.

However, BBC Sport ‘understands there is no prospect of the Premier League considering a replay’ of the game in north London.

Dorsett was reflecting on Klopp’s comments on Wednesday afternoon when he pointed out that the Liverpool manager was mellow in his response and doesn’t want Darren England – the chief culprit of the VAR scandal – to be personally defamed.

The Sky Sports reporter said: “The fact he has said very calmly that he thinks a replay is the right decision and would be the right outcome, shows just how strongly he and Liverpool Football Club feel about this.

“It was really significant Klopp was not shouting, or banging his fists on the table, this was a calm and measured response to something that happened three days ago.

“He has had an awful lot of time to think about it and digest the audio PGMOL sent out on Tuesday, which laid bare the communication mistakes and protocol errors that led Darren England, the VAR, believing the on-field decision was ‘goal’ and from his perspective, only to then realise the on-field decision was ‘no goal, offside’ and was incorrect in saying ‘check complete.’

“Having heard all of that, Klopp has said in a very measured and calm way he wants a replay. He think it is the only way to make things fair and put this difficult situation right.

“He was also quick to point out he did not want to see any individuals criticised for this, he was very pointed in saying that human beings make mistakes and he has no animosity towards Darren England or anybody else involved in that officiating team at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium who made that decision.”

As Liverpool fans, we’re thankful to a neutral party in Dorsett for highlighting that Klopp was placid when making his comments about replaying the Tottenham game and that he bears no ill will towards England personally.

Unfortunately, it won’t stop rival clubs’ supporters – and even some journalists and influential pundits – from mocking the Reds and their manager, even though many of those will have already had their agendas ever before the 56-year-old took his seat for the press conference earlier.

Some may even view the replay plea as a tactic to keep the discussion about refereeing standards in the headlines and divert public scrutiny on himself rather than on any of the players in his squad.

As Dorsett also rightly pointed out, Klopp’s comments today weren’t said in the heat of the moment. He’s had time to reflect on what happened on Saturday and think about his answer to the inevitable questions about the ongoing saga.

The Liverpool manager will no doubt be heavily criticised over his words, and a replay would do little or nothing to address the bigger issue of the standard of officiating and VAR in the Premier League.

Nonetheless, that matter is something he’s right to call out, even if the manner in which he’s gone about it this afternoon was unexpected.

#Ep92 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: VAR disaster at Tottenham, what next for the Reds, Liverpool Women impress AND MORE!

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Sports lawyer explains fine print which would technically allow Liverpool a replay of Spurs game

Liam Togher — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 09:41:21 +0000

A sports lawyer has explained a technicality which’d entitle Liverpool to ask for a replay of their defeat to Tottenham last weekend, but has said it’d be ‘very difficult’ to see materialising.

In a statement issued by the Reds following the controversy over Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal against Spurs, the club sought to ‘explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution’.

This was misconstrued by many social media users – and even some journalists – as the Merseysiders asking for the game to be replayed, but The Athletic‘s James Pearce subsequently clarified that LFC ‘fully accept the outcome’ of the match and never made any demand for a replay.

Speaking to The Mirror, Stephen Taylor Heath, co-head of Sports Law at JMW Solicitors, pointed out the fine print which’d technically allow Liverpool to seek to have the initial result annulled and the fixture played again.

He explained: “Rule L18 outlines that the Premier League board has the power to order a league match to be replayed provided that recommendation to that effect has been made by a commission under rule W51.

“There is therefore a possibility that Liverpool could lobby the Premier League board to convene a commission which would have the power, among others, to order the match to be replayed.”

However, Taylor Heath added that “it would be very difficult for Liverpool to establish that the error itself cost them points in a legal sense given the infinite scenarios that could have arisen had the goal stood – for example, it is not the same as a horse race where the error is as to the winner at the end of a race.”

Let’s be full sure about one thing here – even though Liverpool might have grounds to request a replay, they’ve already made it clear that they won’t do that, before any naysayers decide to misconstrue Taylor Heath’s findings in the same way they did with the club’s statement on Sunday night.

Even in a scenario where the Reds push to have the match replayed, how likely would it be that the Premier League grant their wish?

You can be sure Tottenham wouldn’t appreciate being told they could lose the three points they won on Saturday because of the failings of Darren England on VAR. Spurs did nothing wrong and have no case to answer here, so they don’t deserve to be discommoded as a consequence.

As Pearce pointed out for The Athletic, Liverpool have never demanded a replay. The main things they’re seeking from last weekend’s events are:

‘a transparent investigation into the procedural failings so lessons are learned going forward’
‘an explanation as to why the decision was taken so quickly and why there was no intervention when the mix-up quickly became apparent’

Regarding the first point, the PGMOL said on Tuesday that a ‘detailed report, including the key learnings and immediate actions taken, has been submitted to the Premier League, who have shared it with Liverpool FC and subsequently all other Premier League clubs’ (Sky Sports).

As for the second point, that explanation has been provided with the public sharing of the conversation between the officials on VAR relating to Diaz’s disallowed goal, which has exposed England as making a horrendous error and hiding behind the rule book in a refusal to remedy it.

Put simply, there won’t be a replay. Liverpool have already achieved plenty by shaming the PGMOL into releasing the audio explaining how such a farcical mess was made, and hopefully taking longer-lasting actions to improve the standard of refereeing in this country.

#Ep92 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: VAR disaster at Tottenham, what next for the Reds, Liverpool Women impress AND MORE!

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Ex-England defender misconstrues Liverpool statement and insists it’s time to get over VAR farce

Liam Togher — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 14:09:34 +0000

Former Tottenham and England defender Graham Roberts is calling for people to ‘move on’ from the controversial incidents in Spurs’ victory over Liverpool last Saturday.

The game in north London was overshadowed by the officials on VAR failing to overturn the erroneous on-field offside call which saw Luis Diaz deprived of a perfectly fair goal which would’ve given the Reds a 1-0 lead in a match they lost 2-1.

The Merseyside club duly issued a statement which suggested that ‘sporting integrity’ had been ‘undermined’ by the referees’ failings, and that they intend to ‘explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution’.

However, while Roberts – seemingly misinterpreting that as Liverpool asking for a replay – admitted the goal should’ve stood, he otherwise had little sympathy for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who had two players sent off.

The 64-year-old posted on X: “I’ve been listening to Sky Sports News, am I going mad? Yes the refs mucked up on Saturday re the goal, the sending offs were right, now they saying we should replay the match. JOKE.

“Should Man Utd v Wolves get replayed when Wolves didn’t get [a] penalty? Everybody needs to move on”.

I’ve been listening to skysports news am I going mad , yes the refs mucked up on Saturday re the goal the sending offs were right , now they saying we should replay the match JOKE. Should Man Utd v wolves get replayed when wolves didn’t get penalty . Everybody needs to move on

— Graham Roberts (@GrahamRoberts4) October 2, 2023

As a former Tottenham player, Roberts will naturally be biased towards the club, and one would highly doubt that he’d be pleading for everyone to ‘move on’ if the VAR farce which transpired on Saturday happened the other way around.

It’s this shoulder-shrugging ‘it happens’ mentality which facilitates weekly eruptions over refereeing controversies in the Premier League, and every club has been affected by it in recent weeks and months.

If the authorities simply moved on from the weekend’s mess and failed to take steps towards preventing a repeat occurrence, it’d be negligence of the highest order. In fact, it’d arguably be an admission that they’re happy for clubs to be messed about by inexcusable errors which are the fault of others.

Also, even if Roberts interpreted the reports he saw as Liverpool asking for a replay, one look at the club’s statement would be enough to determine that that particular word wasn’t mentioned once by LFC.

They’re not begging for replays or points to be restored, but rather a deeper discussion towards improving the standards of officiating and VAR usage for the benefit of every stakeholder involved.

This saga is far from over, not until necessary lessons have evidently been learned.

#Ep92 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: VAR disaster at Tottenham, what next for the Reds, Liverpool Women impress AND MORE!

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(Video) Sky reporter claims Liverpool officials told referees about VAR error during Spurs defeat

Liam Togher — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 08:39:01 +0000

Sky Sports reporter David Jones shared some revealing insight that the broadcaster had obtained regarding Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.

The Colombian thought he’d opened the scoring for the Reds in the first half, only to be wrongly flagged offside, and a subsequent VAR review failed to overturn the clear error.

The incident has dominated the post-match discussion for nearly three days now, and it was inevitably a talking point on Monday Night Football.

Sharing what he knows from Sky sources, Jones outlined that it’s believed officials from Liverpool informed the on-field referees of the glaring oversight during the interval, with Simon Hooper and his assistants oblivious to the controversy until that point.

The presenter said: “It’s our understanding that the on-field officials were not made aware of the decision until half-time, so they didn’t know there was anything wrong with what had happened until we got to the interval, and I think it might have been Liverpool officials who made them aware of it to start with.”

Even if the on-field referees didn’t have the benefit of VAR replays, the decision looked straightforward enough that you’d still expect the assistant on the touchline to have made the correct call in real time.

Nonetheless, Hooper and his team were badly let down by their colleagues in Stockley Park, and that it took LFC officials to made them aware of the error (rather than acting upon it themselves at the time) is a damning indictment of the refereeing performances both on the pitch and in VAR on Saturday.

You can view Jones’ comments below (from 1:05), via @SkySportsPL on Twitter/X:

"I do feel like this is a crisis point for VAR" @Carra23 gives his honest opinion on the controversial decision to disallow Luis Díaz's goal against Tottenham pic.twitter.com/TZoXdsS34z

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 2, 2023

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‘Extremely frustrating…’ – Rival EPL manager voices sympathy for Liverpool over VAR controversy

Liam Togher — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 07:34:58 +0000

Mikel Arteta may have clashed with Jurgen Klopp in the past, but the Arsenal manager had plenty of sympathy for his Liverpool colleague over last weekend’s bitter 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

The Reds’ visit to north London was sullied by a major VAR controversy over the process which led to Luis Diaz’s goal being wrongly disallowed for offside, with the Merseyside club set to get their wish to have the referees’ audio of that incident released by the PGMOL.

While the Gunners weren’t directly impacted by what happened on Saturday, both clubs involved in the game are direct positional rivals of Arteta’s side, and he felt for the Reds over the controversy from which they suffered.

When asked if he had sympathy for Liverpool, the 41-year-old replied (via Evening Standard): “For sure, you know at the end you want to get what you deserve. You want to minimise errors that you cannot control away from the work and the job that you do on a daily basis.

“Everybody is trying to have a really clean and honest game but in the end you have to earn the right to win it and play in the conditions that the rules allow. When that doesn’t happen it’s extremely frustrating.

“When they explain all the processes of what they’re trying to do it sounds really logical, but in the heat when you’re talking about millimetres and interpretation of other things like the frames of the camera it’s very, very different.

“It’s a shame that it’s happening but at the moment we haven’t got the right answers I think.”

Full credit to Arteta for such an eloquent answer to a question he could very easily have dodged with a shoulder shrug and a reply along the lines of ‘nothing to do with me’.

Even Liverpool’s direct Premier League rivals would’ve known that the Reds were hard done by at the weekend, and would’ve empathised with their plight in the knowledge that it could very easily have been their own team suffering from the failings of the officials on VAR.

The Arsenal manager would probably have agreed with the Merseyside club’s call for ‘improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again’ in a statement issued on Sunday, one which has drawn both supportive and degrading reactions from various journalists and pundits.

For all that rivalries exist in football, the people involved within the sport on a coaching or playing level would have enough respect for their peers not to want them messed about by such nonsensical actions from referees, which could have major implications come the end of the season.

Arteta has hit the nail on the head with his response here.

EOTK FPL Gameweek 6 Review : Botman the difference-maker? Son now a must-have? You’re a fool if you don’t pick Salah…

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Journalist highlights important point from Liverpool defeat which has been overlooked amid VAR storm

Liam Togher — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 17:20:23 +0000

Neil Jones has highlighted one important facet from Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham on Saturday which has gone largely under the radar amid the vitriolic fallout from the spate of refereeing controversies which blighted the game.

One of those revolved around Curtis Jones’ dismissal for an over-the-top foul on Yves Bissouma, which initially yielded a yellow card from Simon Hooper before the referee upgraded it to red following a VAR review.

Many have argued that the Reds midfielder was hard done by, although the journalist spared a thought for the recipient of the challenge, with the Spurs player generally overlooked in the post-match discussion.

In his exclusive column with Empire of the Kop, the reporter wrote: “I think Curtis Jones is unlucky but it probably is a red card – it’s very unfortunate! You know he’s not trying to do what it looks like he’s doing on the still image; he’s trying to protect the ball and he’s gone over the top.

“It’s by the grace of God that Bissouma doesn’t pick up a really serious injury. So, when that happens, you have to accept a red card is probably going to follow.”

Amid the justifiable and necessary fallout from the officials’ ineptitude on Saturday, it seems to have been largely forgotten that Bissouma could have been badly injured by the Liverpool midfielder’s challenge, even if it wasn’t malicious.

An improvement to how VAR is operated is long overdue, and referees in general need to stop making the inexcusable errors which seem to crop up every week in the Premier League, but the welfare of players on the wrong end of firm tackles mustn’t be forgotten about either.

Thankfully the Tottenham man didn’t suffer any prolonged damage from the red card incident, having gone on to play almost the full match before his 90th-minute withdrawal. We’ve seen previous challenges of a similar nature end up horrendously for the recipients, even if the tackle itself was innocuous.

The merits as to whether Jones should’ve been sent off for not will continue to be debated, but what everyone will agree upon is that we don’t want to see players getting seriously injured, and we’re all glad that Bissouma wasn’t hurt.

EOTK FPL Gameweek 6 Review : Botman the difference-maker? Son now a must-have? You’re a fool if you don’t pick Salah…

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