Frank Lampard and Jamie Carragher have expressed bewilderment at VAR’s mistake in the Tottenham vs Liverpool game on Saturday but both rubbished talks of a potential replay.
As expected, there has been a lot said and written about the mistake made by VAR on Saturday after PMGOL admitted that they made a significant human error by not overruling the offside call for Diogo Jota’s opener.
They explained that VAR Darren England believed the goal had been awarded on the pitch and thought he was confirming that outcome while referee Simon Hooper stuck with the initial offside decision.
Liverpool announced after PMGOL’s admission of their mistake that they would ‘explore the range of options available’ and it has subsequently been reported that the Reds had asked for the audio of the VAR conversation (ThisIsAnfield).
Tottenham vs Liverpool should not be replayed
Lampard admitted that it was difficult to accept the kind of error that was made by VAR but refuted talks of the game potentially being replayed.
When asked about the game potentially being played again, he told Sky Sports’ MNF (02/10/23): “I don’t see it. I don’t know what the repercussions of that would be because this is however many apologies they have made since VAR has been in.
“This is very factual and the circumstances of the mistake are something you can’t get your head around and understand.”
Carragher responded to the same question: “I don’t think there should be a replay. I don’t believe that.”
No one serious is suggesting that a replay is on the cards. While the mistake made by VAR on Saturday is unique due to it being down to basic miscommunication, it is something they should learn from and avoid repeating.
One simple solution would be for VAR to spell out whether it is offside or onside rather than communicating whether the referee should stay with the on-field decision or not.
