Jürgen Klopp has called for the match between Liverpool and Totttenham to be replayed following the VAR controversy which occured during the two sides’ fixture at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Saturday.
This controversy refers to a disallowed goal scored by Liverpool’s Luis Diaz in the 26th minute which was incorrectly flagged as offside by the on-field linesman. Upon review by VAR however, it was evident the Colombian was in fact onside and the on-field decision should have been overturned. Yet, this was not the case and play restarted at 0-0, with PGMOL since stating a “significant human error” was made, which led to the goal being disallowed.
With Liverpool eventually down to nine players due to two red cards, Spurs subsequently went on to win the fixture 2-1 through a Joel Matip own-goal in the last minute of stoppage time. The Reds have since released a statement claiming that “sporting integrity” was “undermined” and that they will “explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.“
Following this statement, in a pre-match press conference prior to his side’s Europa League tie against Union St.Gilloise on Thursday evening, the German manager has agreed with his club’s stance on the matter, and expressed his desire to replay the fixture, saying: “Some people probably don’t want me to say, but not as the manager of Liverpool so much, more as a football person, the only outcome should be a replay. That’s how it is. It probably will not happen.”
Klopp also made clear that the situation should be dealt with by everyone involved “in the proper way” and explained his reasoning for his potential solution by stating: “I am 56 years old, I have been a long time in football, I do not always deal well with it, but I am used to wrong decisions, but something like that, as far as I can remember, has never happened.
“That is why I think a replay would be the right thing. So if it happened again, that is why I think a replay would be the right thing to do.”
Although it remains to be seen how the Premier League and PGMOL respond to this claim, and Liverpool’s attempts to seek “escalation and solution”, it is believed by Sky Sports that the league would ‘not even consider’ a potential replay of the fixture.
Whilst a response awaits, The Merseyside club will prepare for their European match tomorrow evening, before heading to the South Coast facing Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton this Sunday.
As for Spurs, Ange Postecoglou’s side will look to continue their unbeaten start to the new campaign away at newly-promoted Luton Town on Saturday – who will be aiming to claim their first home victory in the English top flight.
Travis Levison | Get Football
