Liverpool’s ultimate aim in bitter VAR row becomes clear as new evidence comes to light

LIVERPOOL are demanding a full investigation from the Professional Game Match Official (PGMOL) into their controversial disallowed goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, but they will not be seeking a replay, contrary to some reports.

LIVERPOOL want a full investigation into Saturday’s VAR error at Tottenham

The VARs, Darren England and Dan Cook, were both suspended for Sunday and Monday respectively after deciding to award the Luis Diaz goal.

Both England and Cook mistakenly believed Diaz was not flagged offside as he ran through at the end of the first-half to give the ten-man Reds a 1-0 lead at Wembley Stadium.

So, when they quickly reported the “check complete” on the call, they inadvertently supported the assistant referee’s wrong offside decision.

According to Sky Sports on Monday night, England and Cook then “realised their mistake” but, as Tottenham took a free-kick that restarted the game, “they felt they couldn’t stop the match” and “couldn’t award the goal” in their role as Video Assistant Referees (VARs). It’s reported that Hooper – who was in charge of officiating at Fulham’s game against Chelsea on Monday night – didn’t even know about the error until after the half-time break.

When officials have made high-profile and controversial errors in the past, they’ve often been suspended for the following game or games. However, Liverpool believe that this won’t be the case this time.

While they don’t want to blame England and Cook for the error, they want transparency and a full review of one of the most bizarre decisions in the history of the Premier League.

On Monday night, Luis Diaz had a goal disallowed at Tottenham

On Sunday evening, the club issued a statement saying they would “explore all options available to us” as they felt there was a “need to escalate and resolve the issue”.

This does not mean they will request a replay of the game, as some have suggested. However, it does mean they don’t accept the explanation given by PGMOL of “significant human error” as being sufficient.

On Monday, Saturday’s referee, Simon Hooper, acted as fourth official at the match between Fulham and Chelsea.

One current official told Sky Sports that it was “not a subjective call”, but rather a “goal- checked and confirmed” that “wasn’t go through”. They added: “I would say it was not one call, but rather a series of failures.”

It could have, and should have, been corrected right away, regardless of how many people were in and listening to the game at the time, given how busy the control room can be. This wasn’t a normal situation.

“I think it’s a question that management should be able to answer, and it can’t just be one person,” said Carragher. “I don’t see a problem with the officials going away midweek, as a lot of them referee in Champions and Europa Leagues and come back.”

It is thought that Liverpool are looking for answers to the question of why England, Cook, and fourth official, Michael Oliver, were all in the UAE just 48 hours prior to the Tottenham match.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Monday night, Carragher said: “I know there’s been criticism about the officials going overseas midweek, but I don’t really see a problem with it. A lot of them go away and come back in the Champions and Europa League.”

“My argument is that if officials are moving to another nation because they are superior to those there, why can’t it be the other way around? We are discussing how this season has not been good enough, and both Howard Webb and the officials are aware of this.

“Why can’t we, the Premier League, the best league in the world with the most viewers, have the best referees and best VAR officials coming to our country if our officials are going abroad?”