EPL

Liverpool seek clarification about disallowed goal before deciding on next move

By Sports Desk October 02, 2023

Liverpool are seeking further information about the review into Saturday’s offside controversy at Tottenham before deciding on next steps.

The club had a Luis Diaz goal ruled out in north London due to a miscommunication between VAR Darren England and on-field referee Simon Hooper. The Premier League game was goalless at the time of the incident, with the Reds going on to lose 2-1.

Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.

Much of the focus since has been on precisely how the club would like the matter escalated and resolved, but PA understands at this stage the key word in the statement from a Liverpool perspective is “explore”.

They are seeking greater clarity and transparency over precisely what the review of the incident promised by referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) will entail.

The Reds acknowledge there is no playbook and no established procedure to deal with this set of circumstances, as there would be in the case of appealing against a red card for instance.

PGMOL issued a statement on Saturday night acknowledging a “significant error” had occurred. Hooper and his assistants had given offside against Diaz on the field, and the PA news agency understands that although England followed the correct procedure in drawing lines, he lost focus and mistakenly thought the initial onfield decision had been onside.

This resulted in him issuing a ‘check complete’ notice to Hooper, rather than advising of an intervention and the goal being awarded.

Once the officials realised an error had been made, play had restarted and VAR protocols state that once that has happened, there is no way back to revisit a decision.

England was replaced as a fourth official for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford match on Sunday while his assistant VAR at Tottenham, Dan Cook, has been replaced for Monday night’s match between Fulham and Chelsea.

Referee and VAR appointments for the coming weekend’s matches are due to be announced at 10am on Tuesday morning.

The controversy over the Diaz goal has led to calls for the conversation between England and Hooper to be broadcast.

PGMOL has not ruled out the possibility of the audio forming part of the next ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’ programme, which is due to air next Monday.

England and Cook had been part of a team of officials who oversaw a fixture between Sharjah and Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, arriving back in the UK on Friday morning.

Requests for English officials to take charge of domestic matches overseas are made to the Football Association, with permission for officials to travel granted jointly by the FA and PGMOL.

Just as players involved in Europa League matches on a Thursday do not return to domestic action until Sunday, so officials’ duties are balanced to take account of any overseas assignments in the week.

For instance, Michael Oliver, who refereed the match in the UAE last week, was a fourth official on Saturday but was back to refereeing at Forest on Sunday.

Nor was the UAE trip unusual. It was the fifth time in the last 10 months that officials have overseen domestic matches overseas, with Tom Bramall and Andy Madley leading teams to Japan in January and the early summer respectively, Oliver officiating a Saudi match in April and Craig Pawson going to Greece in May.

That is on top of English officials frequently being called upon for club and national team matches in international competitions.

Liverpool’s statement said the error that occurred had led to sporting integrity being undermined, but Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said on Monday he still had complete “trust” in referees.

“Well, I’m not so often giving comment on refereeing because they do what they have to do,” the Dutchman said.

“Of course, the standard has to be high and it’s a part of the game.

“Of course, you can expect, we can expect, teams can expect, the fans can all expect, that it has to be a high standard – so it should be because it’s Premier League.

“But I think and I’m sure they do what they can. They are very professional, so they will give their best and I trust them.”

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    Jamaica College (JC) once again demonstrated why they are a force to be reckoned with, as they made light work of rivals Kingston College (KC) with a comfortable 3-0 win in their ISSA/Digicel Group A quarterfinal encounter at Stadium East on Tuesday.

    Led by Nashordo Gibbs’ 18th-minute penalty and a pair of clinical strikes from Jamoy Dennis (31st and 33rd) in quick succession, Jamaica College controlled the one-sided affair from start to finish, rarely allowing Kingston College to find a foothold.

    With the win, Jamaica College moved into pole position in the group on four points, relegating Kingston College into second on three points. Tivoli Gardens (three points) kept their hopes of a semi-final berth alive with a surprise 3-1 win over reigning champions Mona High (one point) in the other group contest.

    Jamaica College’s Head coach Davion Ferguson, expressed delight at the outcome.

    “We understand the competition in terms of how we prepare to peak at the right time. Today was a difficult game, the scoreline might seem as if it was easy but it was a tough game because we played three days ago, and the key was just to get the boys recovered to come here and deliver a good performance.

    “At this stage of the competition, it is not about the number in terms of goals, but more about continuity to ensure we consistently secure the three points,” Ferguson said.

    His counterpart Vassell Reynolds, also had a positive outlook.

    “I don’t think the scoreline was a true reflection of the game, but congrats to JC, they punished us. I thought that we gave away two easy silly goals, we weren’t concentrating, especially on the set plays. So there is no reason to be disappointed or hard on the boys, we just made some errors and we paid for them so it is just about refocusing and come again on Friday,” Reynolds said.

    Jamaica College asserted their intent early, with a warning shot just seven minutes in as Donte Logan’s long-range effort forced Kingston College’s goalkeeper Malique Williams to tip the ball over the crossbar.

    Excelsior in Group B action against Campion College which served as the curtain-raiser of the double header.

    Dennis, an ever-present threat, continued to test Williams, firing off a quick shot in the ninth minute from Jabarie Howell’s pass, and then a powerful strike from just outside the box four minutes later, both of which were kept out by the custodian.

    However, Jamaica College’s breakthrough inevitably came when Gibbs, a former Kingston College player, converted from the penalty spot after Jamone Lyle drew a crucial handball from Dejuan Green inside the area.

    That opener laid the foundation for what would become a commanding performance as Kingston College's best chance of the game came in the 27th minute when Damaine Smith delivered a pinpoint cross to Deshawn Byfield, whose effort from point blank range was kept out by an alert Taywane Lynch in goal for Jamaica College.

    Jamaica College quickly doubled their lead just four minutes later. Gibbs slipped past his marker and sent a precise pass to Dennis, who calmly slotted the ball past Williams to make it 2-0.

    Barely two minutes later, Giovani Taylor capitalized on Kingston College’s defence that appeared momentarily disoriented from a quick free-kick, sending another slick pass to Dennis, who made no mistake in finishing his brace and putting Jamaica College 3-0 up.

    The Old Hope Road boys again went close through Dyllan John, whose shot hit the upright in the 40th minute, adding to Kington College’s mounting frustrations.

    Still, the North Street boys tried to fight back, with Shareef Ricketts attempting a powerful left-footed strike from distance in stoppage time, but Lynch proved equal to the task to preserve the shutout heading into the break.

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    Campion College 2, Excelsior 0

    Jamaica College 3, Kingston College 0

    Mona High 1, Tivoli Gardens 3

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    Having represented England from the Under-16 to the Under-21 levels, Hayden declared his ambition to play for the Three Lions at senior level in 2019, but changed track to switch allegiance to Jamaica as he felt the significance of bringing those family ties full circle.

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