Jamaica's Cavalier will have their sights set on a first-place finish in Group A of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup when they pay a visit to Martinique to take on Golden Lion at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France, on Wednesday.

Cavalier, who currently occupies pole position in the group on seven points, one ahead of second-placed Moca of the Dominican Republic, and two in front of third-placed Defence Force from Trinidad and Tobago.

With Moca and Defence Force squaring off as well on Wednesday, Cavalier are assured of a top-two finish in the group and a place in the semifinals, but the Jamaican side will be keen to collect all three points and win the group.

After opening with a 1-1 draw at Defence Force, Cavalier rolled to victories in their next two games against Port of Spain (2-1) and Moca (3-0).

Leading the way has been Shaniel Thomas, who has four goals in the tournament, including a hat-trick against Moca, to lead the competition in scoring. Thomas has also drawn the most fouls for his side, with seven.

Jalmaro Calvin and Nicholas Hamilton have contributed to Cavalier’s attacking prowess as well, with Calvin scoring a goal and adding an assist and Hamilton with two assists.

Golden Lion will be trying to end their Caribbean Cup on a positive note, as they sit in fourth place in the group with three points, the lone win coming in a 3-2 final with Port of Spain.

As always, legendary Martinique striker Kevin Parsemain will be one for the Cavalier defense to watch. Parsemain has a goal and an assist in the tournament and has totaled 13 shots.

Marvin Bellance has enjoyed a good tournament with seven ball recoveries and Jordy Boriel is a striker also capable of finding the back of the net, having done so against Port of Spain.

 

Liverpool have received the audio of the VAR review which led to a Luis Diaz goal wrongly being disallowed at Tottenham.

Miscommunication between VAR Darren England and on-field referee Simon Hooper led to the goal being ruled out in Saturday’s Premier League fixture.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) acknowledged later that evening that a “significant human error” had occurred, and PA understands the audio linked to the incident has now been sent to Liverpool by PGMOL ahead of it being released publicly.

PA understands the audio could feature in the next ‘Match Officials: Mic’d Up’ programme due to air on Monday night, if not sooner. But it is now understood the audio will definitely be released, it is just a question of when.

Liverpool are also understood to be appealing against a straight red card shown to Curtis Jones earlier in the match.

Diogo Jota was also sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.

England and his assistant VAR, Daniel Cook, have not been selected for Premier League matches this weekend following the Diaz incident.

Liverpool will be sent the audio from Saturday’s offside controversy at Tottenham first before it is released publicly, the PA news agency understands.

The club are understood to have requested the audio related to the “significant human error” which led to Luis Diaz’s goal against Spurs being disallowed, having released a statement on Sunday saying they would explore their options given the “clear need for escalation and resolution”.

PA understands the goal was not given due to a miscommunication between VAR Darren England and the on-field referee Simon Hooper.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited is understood to have always been keen to release the audio in a bid to provide transparency, and that first and foremost it must go to Liverpool.

The organisation has not ruled out either airing the audio in the next ‘Match Officials: Mic’d Up’ programme which is scheduled for Monday next week, or possibly sooner than that.

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

Levi Colwill believes Chelsea team-mate Mykhailo Mudryk can be “one of the best in the world” and hopes the winger can now kick on after scoring his first goal for the Blues.

Mudryk has struggled to tie down a starting spot at Stamford Bridge since his big-money move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January and, prior to Monday’s trip to local rivals Fulham, had not managed a single goal for his new club.

However, he finally broke his goalscoring duck with the opener in a 2-0 win at Craven Cottage and Colwill, who set up the goal with a fine pass, hopes it will do the 22-year-old Ukraine international the power of good.

“It was amazing, I’m so happy for him (Mudryk), luckily I found him,” Colwill said.

“Of course he deserves the goal. He’s a great player, he could be one of the best in the world and he needs to kick on from here and hopefully he can push on.”

Mudryk, who has now started the last three Premier League matches for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, was replaced at half-time against Fulham due to a niggle but defender Colwill felt the £88million man showed exactly what he is capable of before being forced out.

He added: “It’s been tough for him since he joined but during the first half he was amazing and I think everyone can see the qualities he has. We see it all the time in training, he’s such a good player.

“To come here and bring it for the first half was amazing and he has to build from it.

“He’s got everything. Everything you want as a winger.

“It’s tough coming from Ukraine to Chelsea and it’s a pressure he might not have experienced with the different culture too. So it’s always going to be tough but soon we’ll see the player he is.”

Mudryk’s 18th-minute opener against Fulham was quickly followed by an Armando Broja goal as Chelsea claimed only their second Premier League win of the season.

Broja started ahead of the suspended Nicolas Jackson up front and netted his first goal since returning from the cruciate ligament injury he suffered last year.

“I’m so happy for him, it was a long time he was out injured. He came back and has been working so hard to come into the side and score which is the best way to come back,” said Colwill, who believes having increased competition for places will help push both Broja and Jackson.

“One hundred per cent. They’re both great strikers so to have that battle day in day out for starting positions is going to be good for both of them, they’re both going to learn and when they come on the pitch they have got to take their chances.

“Armando has got everything, he’s a problem. I’d hate to play against him. He’s big and strong and takes his chances.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva felt his side were not aggressive enough which allowed Chelsea to strike twice in two minutes and claim west London derby bragging rights.

He said: “It’s a disappointing result for us in certain moments and in terms of performance. The first half was not aggressive enough on and off the ball. We were flat in some moments and were not dynamic.

“They got behind Harrison Reed, Joao Palhinha, our midfield and caused some problems for us.

“When the game was balanced they scored the first goal and we were too passive the way we reacted to Colwill’s cross and after that we were punished by another mistake by ourselves (Tim Ream).”

Kurt Zouma is determined to repay the faith shown in him by West Ham manager David Moyes.

The 28-year-old defender has been confirmed as West Ham’s club captain in the wake of Declan Rice’s summer switch to Arsenal.

Moyes forked out £30million to sign Zouma from Chelsea in 2021 and stood by the Frenchman after a video emerged showing him kicking and slapping his pet cat.

Zouma was fined two weeks’ wages and sentenced to 180 hours of community service after that unsavoury incident.

Last season, Zouma was one of West Ham’s stand-out performers during their triumphant run in the Europa Conference League.

And his redemption continued by being handed the armband and playing a big part in West Ham’s fine start to the current campaign.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege for me to be captain. It’s an amazing club and I’m just so proud,” Zouma told the PA news agency.

“The manager has done an amazing job. He’s a legend here. We won a trophy last year and that was a top achievement.

“And for me personally he has been helping me in every aspect, with my game and outside of football he has been supporting me throughout everything, and I just can’t thank him enough for what he’s done for me and I try to give it back on the pitch.

“That’s my way, on the pitch. Everything he has helped me through I have to give it back on the pitch.”

West Ham have re-invested the £105million received for Rice in James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Mohammed Kudus and Konstantinos Mavropanos, all of whom look like shrewd signings by Moyes.

“We lost a top player, an important player, in Declan,” added Zouma. “But I think the replacements that we made have been very clever.

“That didn’t affect us, to be fair, we knew he was going to go. He’s played some unbelievable games here, he’ll always be remembered here, but he’s an opponent now.

“The players that came in have bought into the project at West Ham, they’ve bought into the tactics, they’ve settled quickly as well.

“So we are pleased to have those guys and they’ve helped us make a really strong start to the season.”

The two match officials stood down from duty following Saturday’s incident that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal will not be involved in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.

Darren England and Dan Cook were VAR and assistant VAR respectively when a “significant human error” resulted in Luis Diaz’s effort incorrectly being disallowed for offside in the Reds’ 2-1 loss at Tottenham.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Sunday announced the pair had been replaced for their next matches – England was due to be fourth official that day at Nottingham Forest v Brentford, with Cook to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash, but Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart stepped in.

And on Tuesday, England and Cook did not feature as the Premier League released its list of officials for matchweek eight this Saturday and Sunday.

Simon Hooper, the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool contest and fourth official for the subsequent Fulham game, is to be VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Saturday.

After Diaz’s 34th-minute effort at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed PGMOL put out a statement saying “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been given but “the VAR failed to intervene”.

The PA news agency understands Liverpool have formally requested the audio from PGMOL of the conversation between Hooper and England related to the incident.

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

Former Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic has announced his retirement at the age of 30 to focus on his family after revealing his wife is expecting twins following “struggles and heartache with fertility treatment”.

The ex-Australia international, who earned 53 for his country, joined the Hoops in 2013 from Central Coast Mariners and spent nine trophy-laden years at Parkhead before moving to West Brom in 2022.

During his time with Celtic, Rogic made 271 appearances for the club and helped them win six Scottish Premiership titles, five Scottish Cups and five League Cups.

 

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In calling time on his professional career in an emotional Instagram post, Rogic reflected on his achievements and also opened up on the fertility struggles he and his wife have faced over the last seven years and said he would be “forever grateful” for the support and help they received from Celtic.

“After careful consideration I have made the decision to retire from professional football,” said Rogic, who returned to Australia after being released by West Brom this summer.

“I have always been rather private with things in my personal life but I feel given the significance, I think it is important for people to understand why and how I have made my decision.

“Throughout the past seven years my wife and I have been on an immensely challenging journey with fertility issues. After years of trying and many failed rounds of IVF, my wife and I were fortunate enough to welcome the birth of our daughter in 2021.

“I have loved every minute of being a dad and consider it my greatest achievement in life.

“After experiencing some more struggles and heartache with fertility treatment, we have recently received the amazing news that our family is growing and we will be expecting twins in 2024.

“Given our past and how hard we have fought for this, along with the challenges that will come with having twins and a two-year-old now seems like the right time to give my focus and attention to what is the most important thing in my life – my family.

“I feel very lucky to have had a career where I spent the majority of my time playing at Celtic, one of the biggest clubs in the world, playing European football, winning many trophies and playing in front of 60,000 fans each week. I have also been lucky enough to represent my country with the Socceroos on over 50 occasions and experienced playing in major international tournaments.

“I feel very lucky to have formed some wonderful friendships through football and experienced so many special moments together. I would also like to thank Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond. Without their help all of this would not have been possible.

“Through Peter and Dermot, I was put in direct contact with one of the world’s leading medical experts, which eventually led to my wife and I being placed at the clinic that would give us the best chance possible to start a family. I will be forever grateful.

“To the managers who supported and guided me through some tough times, I’d like to say a big thank you to Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon, John Kennedy and Ange Postecoglou.

“Indeed I would like to thank everyone in football who has given me such great opportunity throughout my career to be part of the game I love.”

What the papers say

Arsenal are reportedly lining up Wolves winger Pedro Neto for a summer transfer. According to the Daily Mirror, the Gunners considered launching a bid for the 23-year-old in 2022 but nothing materialised. The club are believed to have maintained their interest however, and join Liverpool, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid in keeping tabs on the Portugal international.

Staying with Arsenal, the Daily Mail says negotiations have begun over a new contract for defender Ben White. The development comes despite the 25-year-old England international having three years left on his £120,000-a-week deal.

And The Sun says Manchester United have sent a scout to monitor 22-year-old Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio, with a view to a potential January deal.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Bryan Cristante: Calciomercato reports Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr are set to make a move for the Roma midfielder.

Lucas Beraldo: Liverpool are keen on the 19-year-old Sao Paulo centre-back, according to website 90mins.

Mauricio Pochettino promised Chelsea will continue to show belief in their young stars after Mykhailo Mudryk scored his first goal for the club in their 2-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Armando Broja, making his first start since injuring his ACL in December, also netted as the visitors gave their most convincing performance yet of the manager’s reign and ended a run of three Premier League games without a goal.

Chelsea took the lead after 18 minutes when Mudryk chested down Levi Colwill’s expertly-flighted cross and nudged the ball past Bernd Leno as the Fulham goalkeeper advanced.

And within a minute it was two, Cole Palmer dispossessing Tim Ream who was careless with the ball at his feet and feeding Broja, who deflected the ball home off Ream’s attempted clearance.

It was a dominant first half from Chelsea with Palmer, making his first Premier League start for the club after impressing in the EFL Cup win against Brighton last week, making a critical difference coming deep to collect the ball and starting the visitors’ attacks.

Ian Maatsen, on at half-time in place of Mudryk, struck a post after the break as Pochettino’s side threatened a third, and it was not until 14 minutes from time that a lacklustre Fulham threatened a response when Robert Sanchez blocked Sasa Lukic’s close-range shot.

Pochettino pointed to the patience the club have shown in waiting for their expensively assembled but young side to come good, particularly Mudryk who finally broke his scoring duck nine months after jointing from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88million.

“The difference (tonight) is the result,” said the manager. “The performance was really good. First half I think we played really well, second half we controlled the game.

“I’m pleased for Mudryk, and for Armando. For Misha because he has scored his first goal in the Premier League and then for Armando, after a long period out he’s scored again. The competition is really good for the team.

“It’s about maturity, adaptation. We need to understand that young people need time, need to settle. Massive change for him when he arrived here. I think when you arrive in a team, it’s not easy to settle because there were too many young players that arrived in a team (that) was not solid.

“They need to add something to the team, to build something important. Always it’s difficult, but it’s about time and to have patience, to trust these guys and these young, talented players, and to build their confidence.

“It’s a massive job. It’s step by step. Sometimes people have not the patience, but for us it’s about being patient. Even when we were losing and when we didn’t win from the beginning of the season, we were calm and kept the belief.

“Now that we’ve won two games in a few days it’s (still) important to stay calm.”

It was the fourth game in a row in which Mudryk had started, having not been in the starting XI for any of Pochettino’s first five matches in charge.

He was withdrawn at half-time with what the manager said was an issue with his quad, but he is expected to be fit for Saturday’s trip to face Burnley.

“He played because he deserved it, and he showed in training that he deserved it,” said the manager. “He was really focused in training and had the confidence to go on the pitch and play.

“Normally it’s the player that needs to show us that we can trust in them.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva reflected on a game in which he felt his team lacked the required aggression as they fell to a third league defeat of the season.

“Disappointing result for us,” he said. “At certain moments, performance-wise as well. They started intense from the first moment, winning some individual challenges that gave the boost they needed.

“Our first half was not aggressive enough on and off the ball. We were sloppy in some moments. We did not bring the dynamic that we should. Even our first pressure didn’t work very well.”

Vincent Kompany is refusing to put any extra emphasis on Tuesday’s trip to face fellow Premier League new boys Luton as his side look to end their winless start to the season.

Kompany has spoken repeatedly about the tough start Burnley have faced – they have already suffered defeats against Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Tottenham, and Aston Villa – and many fans have been looking to the postponed trip to Kenilworth Road for a much-needed victory.

But the 37-year-old Kompany said it would do his side no good to treat this match differently to any other.

“It’s a mental exercise for me to really try and make no distinction,” he said. “It’s how I have been brought up, it’s how I know football.

“When you’re at the very top and you underestimate the small sides, you lose points. When you’re at the bottom and you overestimate the big sides…you don’t stand a chance.

“So I want to have consistency in every game, doing what it takes to get a result. I understand Luton is someone we faced last season so we’re looking forward to meeting our old friends again.”

This fixture was originally due to be played in the second week of the season but was postponed while Luton worked to upgrade their ground following promotion and Kompany said he felt the delay had benefited both sides in terms of their improvement since the campaign began.

But while Luton’s work was rewarded with a first win when they beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday, Burnley have taken only one point from their opening six games.

Results are needed now, but Kompany said there had been no loss of confidence within his squad despite the tough start.

“What we did is we went into this with eyes wide open,” he said. “We did a lot of work on managing expectations.

“I can draw a little bit on my own experience. When you get to a certain level, year one or the first three or four months might not feel straightaway when you feel you belong in a place.

“But they’ll battle themselves through it and then they’ll see soon enough that a lot of these players, most of these players, are good enough to play this at this level and actually enjoy success at this level. But you know you’ve to learn the tough way sometimes.”

Kompany insisted he has not been losing any sleep himself, other than during a brief illness last week.

“No chance, on the contrary,” he said when asked if his own confidence had been dented. “I’ve seen enough to believe in the squad.

“But to the point as well, like I’ve said, I’m conscious that it’s not the words ‘I’m happy’. I’m not happy but I’ve seen enough in terms of habits and how these guys approach it to know that they’ll come out stronger from this. They’ll come out a good team.”

Lyle Foster is likely to go straight back into the side after serving a three-match ban for his late red card at Forest and could bring a much-needed boost to a Burnley side who are the lowest scorers in the league.

Foster had scored two in five for Burnley, also netting for South Africa, before his ban.

“I think he was on a trajectory where he showed good signs to be a good player in this league,” Kompany said.

“I think the guys who filled in did well, but you know when you have someone with momentum, you want to keep him as much as you can involved.

“Hopefully tomorrow we can have the Lyle that we had before the suspension and and then everybody knows he is a threat and he scores goals as well.”

Wales are in talks to play world champions Argentina.

Lionel Messi and company have been lined up as potential opponents for the Dragons with Wales keen to play Argentina in Cardiff or Patagonia, where thousands of Welsh emigrants settled in the 19th century.

“There is an ongoing discussion between us and them,” Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said about a possible friendly between the two nations.

“We spoke to them in the last few days about playing in Cardiff.

“I met the Argentinian ambassador when he was in Cardiff talking to the Welsh Government.

“I used the opportunity to talk to him about the opportunity for Wales to go down to play in Argentina. He was excited by the idea, although he obviously he doesn’t decide who plays who.”

Wales have played only once at Cardiff’s 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium since 2011 – a friendly against former European and world champions Spain in October 2018 – and many Dragons’ fans dislike the idea of playing at the home of Welsh rugby.

But Wales will return to Principality Stadium should UK and Ireland win their bid to host Euro 2028 in Switzerland next month – and the Dragons qualify for the tournament.

The Principality Stadium is among 10 venues to be used across five nations should the UK and Ireland bid be successful.

Mooney said: “You’d have to assume we’d need to play some matches there before the competition to get spectators and players used to it.

“We haven’t thought that much about it, but what I can say is that we know who we’d like to play if we had to – World Cup winners Argentina.

“We may not be at the very top of their queue, but if you look at Patagonia and the relationship between the two countries it would be great. We’d love to do it.

“There is a connection and history between us and Argentina because of the Patagonian links and the Welsh people who settled there.

“I could feel from the Argentine ambassador that warmth they have behind Wales and I’d love to see Lionel Messi playing in Cardiff.”

Patagonia is at the southern end of Argentina – around 1,000 miles from the capital Buenos Aires – and in 2006 the Wales rugby team played at Puerto Madryn, a city founded by Welsh settlers in 1865.

Wales and Argentina have only met twice before, with their last fixture being a 2002 friendly at the Principality Stadium when Craig Bellamy scored in a 1-1 draw against the South Americans.

Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were on target as Chelsea claimed west London derby bragging rights with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Mudryk opened the scoring before Broja doubled their tally – one minute later – to give the Blues an important three points on the road.

The win brought Chelsea’s three-match winless run in the league to an end and relieved some pressure from the shoulders of Mauricio Pochettino as his side began to turn a corner.

Chelsea started with intent. The visitors enjoyed touches of the ball in dangerous areas and looked positive through the likes of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez, who fed the pacey Mudryk, who blazed over his first attempt in the 10th minute.

But the Ukraine international did not have to be asked twice when he put Chelsea ahead after 18 minutes.

Levi Colwill’s curled pass unleashed the rapid Mudryk, who calmy finished past Bernd Leno to score his first-ever Chelsea goal.

And a minute after the restart, the Blues doubled their lead.

Palmer – who started in his first league game for the away side – pounced on a misplaced pass and slipped through Broja, who found a gap and fired home to give Chelsea a 2-0 advantage.

It was two big chances and two goals for Pochettino’s men, who finally began to show signs of being clinical, having gone three English top-flight games without finding the back of the net.

Fulham were anonymous for much of the first half, but they had a half-chance when the misfiring Raul Jimenez jumped highest at a corner and directed his effort wide of Robert Sanchez’s post in the 41st minute.

Marco Silva brought midweek scorers Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi on at half-time in search of a response and Nigeria international Iwobi started bright when he got on the end of Willian’s cross – but his effort fell kindly into the gloves of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

And Carlos Vinicius was lucky to avoid red when he appeared to strike Thiago Silva with his hand before he combined with Iwobi on the hour, where he was stopped in his tracks by Chelsea’s tight defence.

The visitors sought a third on the break when Broja and Palmer worked together to find substitute Ian Maatsen. But his first-time effort cannoned off goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s post before Fernandez’s rebound was denied by the German in goal.

Craven Cottage cried for a goal in the 73rd minute as time ebbed away.

Timothy Castagne marauded down the right flank and did well to beat his man before his driven cross found the head of Vinicius, who again failed to test Sanchez.

The Cottagers looked flat all game and were in clear need of an strong outlet up front to challenge Axel Disasi and 39-year-old Thiago Silva, who were making light work of any Fulham attack.

This was summed up in 12 minutes from time when Sasa Lukic missed a golden opportunity from six yards after Willian’s well-weighted pass.

Chelsea continued to nullify any threats from the hosts and held on to seal victory during five added minutes to move up to 11th in the table.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering changing his bid and buying a minority stake in Manchester United, according to reports.

Ineos founder Ratcliffe, who had attempted to buy Chelsea last year, joined the race to purchase United in January and had been the sole bidder before Sheikh Jassim entered the running a month later.

A lengthy takeover saga has followed with numerous bids entered by both boyhood fan Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim, but no progress has been made over any potential change of ownership from the Glazer family, who announced in November they were open to selling the club.

Manchester United’s valuation on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted by more than £500million last month in the wake of reports the Glazers may not sell.

It is now being reported that Ratcliffe, the second-richest person in the UK according to the Sunday Times Rich List, could decide to buy a minority stake in the Premier League giants.

Sky News report Ratcliffe may seek a stake in the region of 25 per cent as part of a proposal to try to bring the drawn-out sale process to an end, having initially wanted to complete a majority takeover.

If the Glazers accepted this new reported offer, it would see the American family still retain majority control of the club they first bought in 2005.

United fans have protested against the Glazers for years and thousands took part in an hour-long sit-in at Old Trafford after a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in August.

It has been 18 years since the Americans’ controversial leveraged takeover and over 10 months since they announced a strategic review.

Ratcliffe’s team declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency.

The Jamaica Football Federation has reportedly identified potential candidates to fill the head coaching vacancy with the Senior Women’s National Team.

The position was opened after the JFF decided not to renew the contract of former head coach, Lorne Donaldson, after the team lost a pair of Olympic Qualifying fixtures to Canada in September.

“The interviewing process will begin this week, as we have received a number of applications from experienced and qualified individuals. Soon, a short list will be selected for final interviews. Importantly, this also includes the reengagement of members of the coaching and technical staff,” a post on the federation’s Instagram page stated on Monday.

“The JFF is committed to ensuring that the women’s program is given the best opportunity to succeed and continue the significant accomplishments that have brought much pride to Jamaica,” the statement continued.

Donaldson was appointed Reggae Girlz head coach in June 2022 and led the national women’s team to their second consecutive qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the World Cup, he took Jamaica to a historic round of 16 after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.

VAR is now at a “crisis point”, according to pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool had a Luis Diaz goal incorrectly ruled out for offside during Saturday’s Premier League defeat at Tottenham due to miscommunication between VAR Darren England and on-field referee Simon Hooper.

The match was goalless at the time of the incident, with the Reds – who were eventually reduced to nine men – going on to lose 2-1 to an own goal from Joel Matip deep into stoppage time.

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

The PA news agency understands the Reds have now formally requested the audio of the conversation between the two from referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

Former Liverpool and England defender Carragher was analysing the incident ahead of Monday night’s live Premier League game between Fulham and Chelsea at Craven Cottage.

The Sky Sports pundit believes the whole system is now under more pressure than ever.

“I don’t think the feeling around VAR has ever been lower – I do feel as if this is almost like a crisis point for VAR in this country,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“It is not just on the back of this decision, it is what has been happening all season, like when there was a situation with Wolves against Manchester United (in the first Monday night televised match of the new season).

“I don’t want to pile on to an official or (PGMOL chief refereeing officer) Howard Webb, I could imagine they feel absolutely awful (over) the last couple of days.

“I am not into the conspiracy theories, that this one favours that team or another – no-one gains anything from this in terms of the officials.

“We have all been there in our jobs and made mistakes, so I feel for them – but it is an horrendous mistake, that is unprecedented and you can’t actually quite believe the explanation that has been given.”

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 PA understands that although England followed the correct procedure in drawing lines, he lost focus and mistakenly thought the initial on-field 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.

Carragher, though, believes the incident could have been quickly resolved at the time.

“They were saying they were staying with protocol about not allowing to stop the game. I don’t believe that. They panicked. They froze,” he said.

“I know that’s the rule, but that’s a red-tape rule. If they had reversed it, we’d have been praising their leadership.

“There’s talk that the officials didn’t know until half-time that a mistake had been made, when that ball goes out of play [after the incident] the look on that referee’s face, it’s a look of something has gone wrong.

“I think it’s unbelievable that all the parties involved haven’t released the audio. I find it unfathomable.

“The only way Howard Webb and PGMOL will gain any sort of credibility back was to get it out there.

“The problem they have now is the explanation is so random and bizarre, the longer this goes on, the more people will think they’re trying to put a story together.”

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