Liverpool may be able to demand a replay against Tottenham after VAR’s howler in ruling out Luis Diaz’s opening goal, with Premier League rules stating such a decision is possible.
Tottenham and Liverpool could face a replay after Saturday’s VAR defeat due to a little-known Premier League rule.
Luis Diaz’s fully qualified goal against Spurs was ruled out after VARs Darren England and Dan Cook mistakenly signaled “check” to on-field referee Simon Hooper after he wrongly ruled out a goal. The referees realized the error immediately afterwards, but believed their decision could not be overturned due to VAR rules.
Referee PGMOL later released the audio of the incident following Liverpool’s request for transparency to show how they reached their decision. Liverpool lost the lead but went on to lose the match 2–1
PGMOL both sidelined England and Cook for their roles. And while the Reds did not directly ask for the game to be replayed, the club’s statement of condemnation said “sporting integrity is being undermined” and that they were “exploring various options given the clear need for escalation and resolution”. Experts say it suggests Liverpool have already sought legal advice and could end up lobbying for the match to be replayed after the controversial audio was released. That is the right of the Premier League to give.
Stephen Taylor Heath, head of sports law at JMW Solicitors, told The Mirror: “Regulation L18 states that the Premier League governing body has the power to order a league match to be played if recommended by the commission under Rule W51. “Furthermore, Rule W1 gives the Premier League Board of Directors the power to investigate any suspected breach of the rules, including by a match referee, while Rule N4 ensures that every match referee undertakes to comply with the Laws of the Game as well as all protocols. and FA rules.
“Therefore, it is possible that Liverpool could lobby the Premier League board to convene a committee which, among other things, would have the power to replay the match.
“To mount a general legal case outside of the Premier League regulations, a starting point would normally have to be to establish a contractual nexus between the club and the officials that has been breached or a duty of care and negligence causing loss.”
However, Liverpool are thought to only be able to assess the impact of the decision come the end of the season. It would likewise be very difficult to prove that the error cost them points in a legal sense, due to the infinite scenarios that could have emerged if the goal had stood.
There has been plenty of uproar since the release of the audio on Tuesday evening. It showcased the voices of the linesman, who flagged for offside, and both the VAR and assistant VAR, who checked the lines and found quickly that Diaz was onside. One of the officials could be heard swearing before saying they couldn’t take any further action after the game had been restarted with a Spurs free-kick.
