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• 'It's a Ferrari, you just need the right driver' – ex-FIFA referee defends VAR amid Liverpool row

  Former FIFA referee Duarte Gomes has leapt to the defence of VAR amid the furore surrounding Liverpool's Premier League defeat to Tottenham, calling the technology's introduction "the best thing to happen to football". 

  The use of VAR is a hot topic in the English top flight again after Luis Diaz was incorrectly denied a goal in Liverpool's 2-1 loss to in-form Spurs.

  Darren England – the VAR official on duty at the time – misunderstood the on-field call to chalk the goal off for offside, inadvertently clearing an incorrect decision.

  Liverpool have reacted furiously to the incident, which played a part in their first defeat of the season, with boss Jurgen Klopp suggesting the game should be replayed on Wednesday.

  However, Gomes – a retired Portuguese referee who officiated in FIFA and UEFA competitions between 2002 and 2016 – says the ability of those using the technology is the issue, not the technology itself.

  Speaking to Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit, Gomes admitted officials were still adapting to the technology but said it had already righted "thousands" of incorrect decisions.

  "I don't have the slightest doubt that it's the best thing that's happened to football and to referees for decades," Gomes said.

  "I know that we have a big, long way to run yet. It's not perfect, far from that. People who work with VAR are also learning and they are focused always on their careers as a referee on the pitch. 

  "The process of decision-making was completely different, and then you put them in a room with many screens and tell them to decide in a different way they have to adjust. 

  "As with everybody, there are some people who have more competence than others. We are now on that trail to try to be there. 

  "Nevertheless, in factual decisions, let's say, for example, offsides or with goal-line technology, I believe that around the world, thousands and thousands of goals have been saved or cancelled correctly after VAR. 

  "So yes, it's good for football. It's a Ferrari, you just have to have the right driver to be there.

  "I've made many mistakes with the human eye; penalties, decisions, yellow or red cards, things that I missed. VAR could help me a lot. I would have been a better referee if I had it."

  Gomes also believes, however, that technology cannot become all-invasive in football, emphasising the need to preserve the emotional nature of the sport.   

  "I'm a little concerned about AI in the future, of course also in refereeing matters. I believe it will have an important role," he added.

  "Sitting here right now, I don't know if I will have a different way of thinking in 10 years. We are always adjusting, but I believe technology should always help until the point that humans decide.

  "Human first, technology after, not the other way around because football is for people. It's played for people, with people, and refereed with people, and that's what gives the emotion.

  "If you become very technological, it's very difficult to have an emotional sport and then it will lose many of its values, so yes, technology is always to help, not as a substitute for the referee."

  Gomes also feels the rise of social media has had a major impact on the levels of abuse received by officials. In a high-profile incident from last season, Roma boss Jose Mourinho was given a four-match ban by UEFA for angrily confronting referee Anthony Taylor after his team lost the Europa League final.

  "I believe it's getting worse because social media gives the right to everybody to criticise, especially the ones who didn't do it with a public voice before," he said.

  "Football is a social phenomenon and it's unique because it can put you in a very emotional state, sometimes an irrational state, which is worse. 

  "You cannot ask people to be reasonable when they have their emotions so strongly attached to their teams and their competitions. 

  "Sometimes you have to let the balloon go down a little bit and then ask them for some tolerance again. Nobody wants to hear the explanation of law one or law two, [but] you have to do it slowly, you have to try and try."

• Smith tells Liverpool to move on as Klopp calls for replay of controversial Tottenham fixture

  While Alan Smith accepts Liverpool have every right to be hurt by the VAR error which cost them in Saturday's loss to Tottenham, he thinks Jurgen Klopp's team have no choice but to move on. 

  PGMOL, the body responsible for match officials in English football, admitted a "significant human error" was committed when the decision to disallow Luis Diaz's first-half strike – which was flagged offside – was not overturned. 

  The audio recording of the decision-making process surrounding the incident was made public on Tuesday, revealing VAR Darren England misunderstood the nature of the on-field decision when clearing the check.

  Diaz's wrongly disallowed effort occurred when the game was goalless, with Liverpool down to 10 men following Curtis Jones' straight red card. 

  Diogo Jota was also sent off in the second half before Joel Matip's stoppage-time own goal handed Spurs a dramatic 2-1 victory, maintaining their flying start to the Premier League season.

  Liverpool subsequently said the "sporting integrity" of the game had been "undermined" in a statement, and boss Klopp made further headlines on Wednesday. 

  Speaking at a press conference ahead of Liverpool's Europa League fixture against Union SG, Klopp called for the Spurs game to be replayed, labelling the situation "unprecedented".

  While Arsenal great Smith has sympathy for Liverpool, he maintains the Reds have no option but to accept they were wronged. 

  Speaking to Stats Perform at the Legends of Football event, in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, Smith said: "I was amazed when they played on and the offside was upheld.

  "It was a lack of communication, big time.

  "I can't understand how that happened, but it's not great because it casts a shadow over the game, over VAR especially, and Liverpool are clearly very upset. 

  "You can't blame them, but I think you've just got to suck it up and carry on really. It's done. It's done now."

  The incident has sparked further debate about the impact and implementation of VAR, but former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein says the technology will become more effective as time goes on, calling for supporters to "stick with it".

  "Well, it comes down to two words, human error, and that's going to happen," Dein said. "People have got to understand.

  "I'm a great supporter of VAR. Before VAR came in, the referees were making one game-changing error every three games. That's been reduced dramatically.

  "You'll see as the years go by. It's still in its infancy. It only came in the World Cup in Russia in 2018. That was when VAR was really introduced. 

  "It's going to get better and more efficient as time goes on. I'm a great supporter. You've got to stick with it."

  Arsenal Women's manager Jonas Eidevall was also speaking at the event, and he outlined his belief that semi-automatic offside technology – which is used in UEFA competitions – should be adopted by PGMOL.

  "With VAR, as long as there is a human element to it, there can always be human errors," Eidevall said.

  "If you do the semi-automatic offside technology, you don't really have a human element to that and you get less errors. So I think that's a good example. Goal-line technology is another one. 

  "The referees are also going to get better, over time, at working with a system like VAR. That's also very obvious and they will also learn things every season. They want to get things right."

  Meanwhile, VAR – and goal-line technology – was a hot topic across the opening weekend of the Women's Super League season, with officials failing to award Guro Reiten a goal despite the ball clearly crossing the line in Chelsea's 2-1 win over Tottenham.

  Asked if he expected VAR to grace the league soon, Eidevall said: "Yes, I do. I think that's where the development is heading. I don't know if that's next season or the season after. 

  "I think when we do, if we implement it, it has to be the full version. 

  "What I don't want to see in the women's game is for them to implement a cheaper version of VAR with less camera angles. That makes it really difficult for the referees to see the situations."

• England defender Leah Williamson cannot wait to get back playing after injury

  England and Arsenal defender Leah Williamson has said she “is more focused than ever to be back on the pitch” after being made an OBE at Windsor Castle.

  Williamson was forced to miss this summer’s World Cup, where the Lionesses finished runners-up, after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in April.

  The 26-year-old, who captained the Lionesses to the European Championship title last summer, told the PA news agency: “I’ve made some good steps. I’m running again now. We are in a great place.

  “Days like today I can celebrate them properly with my family but I am more focused than ever to be back on the pitch.”

  Williamson said she could feel like “a new signing for my team” when she returns from injury.

  She said she had “a bit of a catch up” with the Prince of Wales after recently seeing him at a United Nations summit in New York.

  Williamson became the first England women’s footballer to address the United Nations when she spoke at the Sustainability Development Goals Summit.

  She said she has spoken to the Prince recently about making “my game grow” and how the women’s game can be integrated with men’s football.

  When asked about speaking at the United Nations summit, she said: “We have made so much impact on the pitch and it’s obviously important we do that off the pitch as well.

  “There were a lot of things I’d spoken to people about and that I really wanted to give my time to and I’ve been able to do that while I’ve been injured.

  “It’s not my preferred choice, I’d love to have shin pads and boots on on the pitch but while I’m not out (there) I want to still try and have an impact and do what we do just in a different way.”

  Williamson said she hopes women’s football “continues to shift” and there are more games at big stadiums so “we have a chance to prove that the game belongs there”.

  But she warned women’s footballers are “running ourselves into the ground to try and compete” because of a busy schedule.

  She said: “I think everybody wants to protect their bit of the game but ultimately something has to give in the end and I had team-mates this year that after a World Cup final had five days off.

  “It’s not acceptable. It’s not favourable to the players, and ultimately, we’re the only ones that lose out. It’s our bodies on the line.”