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• ‘A loss of focus’ – VAR recording of Luis Diaz disallowed goal released

  The audio recording of the discussion between the match officials that led to Luis Diaz’s goal being wrongly disallowed has been made public, with VAR Darren England swearing twice upon being told of his mistake.

  Diaz was incorrectly adjudged to have been offside on the field after netting in the first half of Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday, a decision which was not over-ruled by England and his assistant Daniel Cook.

  Liverpool asked for a recording of what happened and Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has taken the step to publicly release the communication into how the bungled verdict was reached.

  PGMOL said England “lost sight of the on-field decision” due to “a lapse of concentration and loss of focus”.

  In the recording, England says “check complete, check complete. That’s fine, perfect” before the replay operator and then Cook question whether the correct decision has been made.

  England swears upon realising the error and then says “they’ve restarted the game. Can’t do anything, can’t do anything” as the replay operator makes repeated calls to delay the match.

  England then issues another expletive before the tape finishes, the end of an incident in which PGMOL, the referees’ body, admitted immediately after the match that a “significant human error” had occurred.

  Liverpool said “sporting integrity has been undermined”, while they released a statement the following day indicating they would explore their options given the “clear need for escalation and resolution”.

  PGMOL said in a statement accompanying the audio: “After the on-field officials had disallowed the goal for offside, the checking phase and process started and was carried out correctly by the VAR.

  “In a lapse of concentration and loss of focus in that moment, the VAR lost sight of the on-field decision and he incorrectly communicated ‘check complete’, therefore inadvertently confirming the on-field decision. He did this without any dialogue with the AVAR (assistant VAR).

  “The match then restarted immediately. After a few seconds, the replay operator and then the AVAR queried the check-complete outcome with the VAR and asked him to review the image that had been created, pointing out that the original on-field decision had been offside, but this was not communicated to the on-field team at any point during the match.

  “The VAR team then gave consideration as to whether the game could be stopped at that point, however the VAR and AVAR concluded that the VAR protocol within the laws of the game would not permit that to happen, and they decided intervention was not possible as play had restarted.”

  England and Cook have not been included among the officials for duty in the coming weekend’s Premier League fixtures.

  The pair had already been replaced for the remainder of their matchweek seven duties – England was due to be fourth official at Nottingham Forest v Brentford on Sunday, with Cook scheduled to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash.

  PGMOL has vowed to learn from this incident, stressing accuracy over all else, including efficiency, to its video match officials and, from now on, a VAR must confer with their AVAR in the check process before relaying the final decision to the on-field officials.

  The Premier League announced a wider review of VAR, amid scathing criticism in the fallout of what happened at the weekend, is set to be held in conjunction with the PGMOL.

  A Premier League spokesperson said: “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.

  “However, a wider review to seek consistently higher standards of VAR performance will be conducted by the Premier League and PGMOL, supported by other stakeholders, and where necessary further recommended actions will be brought forward and implemented.

  “We have communicated fully with Liverpool FC on this matter and have shared PGMOL’s findings and relevant footage of the incident with all Premier League clubs.”

  England and Cook have come under further scrutiny since Saturday after it was reported they were part of a refereeing team in the United Arab Emirates two days before the Tottenham-Liverpool match.

  PGMOL added: “PGMOL and The FA have also agreed to review the policy to allow match officials to officiate matches outside of FIFA or UEFA appointments.”

• Brendan Rodgers expects Michael Beale to bounce back after Rangers exit

  Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has backed Michael Beale to learn from his Rangers experience and be a success in his next job.

  Beale was sacked on Sunday after 307 days in the post with Rangers seven points adrift of Celtic in the cinch Premiership following their third league defeat of the season against Aberdeen 24 hours earlier.

  Rodgers and Beale were both on the Chelsea coaching staff at the same time and the former Rangers boss was Liverpool Under-21s head coach when the Celtic manager was in charge at Anfield.

  “I’m always saddened when any manager loses their job, no matter what club they work at,” said Rodgers when asked for his reaction ahead of Celtic’s Champions League clash with Lazio.

  “When you manage Celtic or Rangers, they are big-pressure jobs. I am sure Michael will go away and reflect on his time here and no doubt he will he come back in again, he is an outstanding young coach and manager.

  “He will go away and reflect on the pressure he was under and the expectation and the stress that this job can bring, and he will learn from it and go on and get another job and make a success of it, I am pretty sure.

  “Whatever club, whoever it is, it’s not nice when someone loses their role and position.

  “I hope for him the best for the future, of course.”

  Kevin Muscat, Frank Lampard and Pascal Jansen are among the bookmakers’ favourites to succeed Beale.

  Former Rangers player Muscat led Yokohama F Marinos to the J-League title last season, following in the footsteps of his coaching mentor Ange Postecoglou, who clinched the treble for Celtic last term with the help of two Hampden wins over Beale’s side.

  Lampard is available following underwhelming spells in charge of both Everton and Chelsea last season while Jansen’s AZ Alkmaar side sit second in the Eredivisie after making the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last season.

• T&T's Defence Force, Dom Rep's Moca to lock horns in do-or-die battle for semi-final berth

  An epic showdown awaits in Group A of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, as Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force hosts Moca of the Dominican Republic in a winner-takes-all affair on at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, on Wednesday.

  Moca go into the contest with the slight advantage, as they sit second in the group with six points, a single point ahead of Defence Force. The visitors from the Dominican Republic only require a draw to secure a semifinals berth, but a full three points could be enough to see them leap into first place, should currently leaders Cavalier falter in their visit to Golden Lion.

  For Defence Force, the mission is straightforward; win and they are in. A full three points would guarantee a semifinals spot and could possibly be enough to win the group as well.

  Moca have wins over Port of Spain (1-0) and Golden Lion (3-0) to put themselves in this position to advance, while Defence Force played to draws with Cavalier (1-1) and Port of Spain (1-1) and earned a victory over Golden Lion (1-0).

  Defence Force will be turning to the likes of Reon Moore, Jamali Garcia and Christopher Biggette to get the job done. In the tournament, Moore has a pair of goals and an assist, while Garcia has been a tireless worker in midfield with 152 passes completed and eight ball recoveries.

  Biggette has been solid in net, making 13 saves, 10 clearances and recording a clean sheet.

  Moca will be out to have a strong start to nail down a positive result and the duo of Gustavo Ascona and Victor Sanchez can help get them there. Ascona has a goal from six shots taken, while Sanchez is coming off a brace against Golden Lion.

  No doubt an exciting contest awaits between two sides with everything on the line.