VAR officials froze under the weight of pressure and their own mistakes as Luis Diaz‘s goal was controversially and wrongly ruled out during Liverpool‘s loss at Tottenham on Saturday, audio recordings released on Tuesday night show.
Liverpool’s Colombian winger scored but his goal was chalked off for offside due to a monumental mess-up by VAR which saw those at Stockley Park wrongly believe the on-field decision to be ‘goal’, meaning they said the check was complete, with the player clearly onside.
The Reds officially demanded the recording on Monday and their request was granted on Tuesday afternoon, with referee’s body PGMOL making the audio tape public on Tuesday night – which showed officials knew of their huge mistake immediately but still did not stop the game.
The VAR operator is heard to say after play wrongly restarted, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait, the on-field decision was ‘offside’, are you happy with this? That’s wrong that, Daz (Darren England, VAR)’, to which England sighs and swears, shouting ‘Oh f***’.
Oli Kohout, the VAR Hub Operations Executive, called in to order officials to delay the game and right their wrong, but England bluntly replied, ‘Can’t do anything’ and the game restarted with a Tottenham free-kick. ‘I can’t do anything… (bleeped-out expletives),’ England continued.
The PGMOL have released the full audio from the VAR hub during Liverpool ‘s controversial 2-1 defeat to Tottenham, that saw referee Simon Hooper incorrectly disallow the Reds a goal
VAR official Darren England (left) and VAR assistant Dan Cook (right) were dropped from their roles for upcoming fixtures after the high-profile error
Liverpool have made a formal request to receive the VAR audio from the decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s goal for offside against Tottenham
The audio demonstrates a breakdown in communication between those involved and a serious lapse in concentration by VAR. The PGMOL previously hired Phil Bentham, former rugby league referee and TMO, to help make sure their messages are clear and concise.
But this embarrassing episode is expected to lead to further training for the VARs. Liverpool are still weighing up their options following the huge injustice, which destroyed their unbeaten start to the season. Many at the club are rightly still furious with the decision.
Moments after the match restarted, officials are heard to say ‘perfect’ and ‘well done boys, good process’. The PGMOL said in a statement that ‘standards fell short of expectations’ and it has identified three key areas ‘to mitigate against the risk of a future error’.
A Premier League spokesperson on Tuesday night added: ‘It is clear that there were not only human errors but systemic weaknesses in the VAR process. We accept PGMOL’s immediate recommendations to ensure that such failures are not repeated in the future.
How the latest VAR controversy unfolded – transcript in full
Assistant referee 1 (Adrian Holmes): ‘All good. Both holding. Both holding’
Referee (Simon Hooper): ‘Yeah, leave it alone.’
Assistant referee 1: ‘Waiting. Delaying, delaying.’
VAR (Darren England): ‘Possible offside, Diaz.’
Assistant referee 2 (Simon Long): ‘Give it.’
Assistant referee 1: ‘Coming back for the offside, mate.’
VAR: ‘Just checking the offside. Delay, delay.’
VAR: ‘Give the kick point, let’s go. Kick point please?’
Referee: ‘Yeah, no worries mate.’
Replay operator: ‘So, here we are.’
Referee: ‘Wait.’
Replay operator: ‘Just get a tight angle.’
VAR: ‘Yeah give me 2D line ready after this one from frame two after that.’
Replay operator: ‘So frame two there?’
VAR: ‘That’s fine. Perfect, yeah. 2D line on the left boot.’
Replay operator: ‘Let me just switch angles.’
VAR: ‘Romero, I think it is?’
Replay operator: ‘I think it might be this angle better? Happy with this angle?’
VAR: ‘Yep.’
—
Replay operator: ‘2D line on the boot?’
VAR: ‘2D line on the boot.’
Replay operator: ‘Yep, okay. So 2D line on the boot.’
VAR: ‘And stop. Check complete, check complete. That’s fine, perfect.’
Assistant referee 1: ‘Playing.’
Referee: ‘Cheers mate.’
VAR: ‘Thank you mate.’
Referee: ‘Well done boys, good process.’
Replay operator: ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside.. Are you happy with this?’
Assistant VAR (Dan Cook): ‘Yeah.’
Replay operator: ‘Are you happy with this?’
Assistant VAR: ‘Offside, goal, yeah. That’s wrong that, Daz.’
VAR: ‘What?’
Replay operator: ‘On-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this image? Yeah, it is onside. The image that we gave them is onside.’
Assistant VAR: ‘He’s playing him, he’s gone offside.
VAR: ‘Oh f***’
Replay operator: ‘Delay, delay. Oli (Kohout, PGMOL Hub Ops) saying to delay, Oli’s saying to delay.’
VAR: ‘Pardon?’
Replay operator: ‘Oli’s calling in to say delay the game. The decision is onside.’
VAR: ‘Can’t do anything.’
Replay operator: Oli’s saying to delay, Oli’s saying to delay.’
VAR: ‘Oli?’
Fourth official: ‘Yeah.’
Replay operator: ‘Delay the game, to delay the game? Stop the game.’
VAR: ‘They’ve started the game. Can’t do anything, can’t do anything.’
Assistant VAR: ‘Yeah they’ve restarted. Yeah. No.’
VAR: ‘I can’t do anything. I can’t do anything. F***.’
‘However, a wider review to seek consistently higher standards of VAR performance will be conducted by the Premier League and PGMOL and where necessary further recommended actions will be brought forward and implemented.’ Liverpool were left further aggrieved on Tuesday night when Curtis Jones’ three-match ban for the midfielder’s red card in the loss at Spurs was upheld. The Reds had appealed his sending off believing the tackle on Yves Bissouma to be mistimed but not reckless.
Meanwhile, Mail Sport can reveal that PGMOL chief Howard Webb is set to escape the storm by flying to the Netherlands to work for UEFA on the side this week. Webb will act as observer for the Europa Conference League group game between Alkmaar and Legia Warsaw on Thursday.
The 52-year-old Englishman will be at the AFAS Stadion to evaluate the officiating team. It is not known how much UEFA’s referee observers are being paid per assignment – if anything but one former observer told Mail Sport that expenses are covered for up to £350 (€400) per day.
Webb’s trip comes after England and Cook were part of an officiating team sent to the United Arab Emirates to oversee a UAE Pro League match, two days prior to their VAR error at Stockley Park.
The PGMOL have faced criticism for sanctioning that 16-hour round trip on the eve of such a significant Premier League fixture, while insiders suggested referees can command around £2,500 ($3,000) for these one-off assignments in the Middle East.
The Reds were incensed after the game and vowed to explore all options available to them
Both England and Cook have been dropped from this weekend’s fixture list following their mistake, while referee Simon Hooper will act as VAR for Everton versus Bournemouth on Saturday.
It can also be revealed that the Premier League’s introduction of an automatic offside system has been affected by their contract with ball supplier Nike, whose products have yet to be extensively trialled with the new technology.
Mail Sport has learned that the software which enabled automatic offsides to be used for the first time at last year’s World Cup was created by a collaboration between German analytics company Kinexon and FIFA’s official ball supplier adidas.
The Premier League have a long-standing contract with Nike however, although sources insist this will not be an issue moving forward as alternative technologies have been developed which do not require a sensor to be placed in the ball.
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