Liverpool filed a complaint with the English Refereeing Board, requesting clarification on the situation where defender Virgil van Dijk had his goal disallowed in the 0-3 defeat to Man City.
Liverpool are determined to reclaim “justice” after their defeat to Man City at Etihad Stadium in round 11 of the Premier League.
In their appeal, the reigning champions claimed that the match referee made a serious error in disallowing a goal from Virgil van Dijk .
The controversial situation happened in the 37th minute, when center-back Van Dijk jumped high to head the ball across the corner of the net past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma , after Mohamed Salah’s corner kick.
The controversial situation happened in the 37th minute, when the Dutch midfielder headed the ball into Man City’s net from a corner kick.
The referee initially awarded the goal but then blew the whistle when VAR intervened to determine that teammate Andy Robertson was offside, but did not obstruct goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s vision.
Van Dijk ‘challenged’ the referee when his goal was denied.
The Dutch midfielder himself celebrated wildly because he thought he had equalized 1-1 for Liverpool. However, the joy quickly faded when VAR intervened.
After a few minutes of review, the referee decided not to recognize the goal because he thought his teammate Andy Robertson was in an offside position and had obstructed the vision of the Man City goalkeeper .
Liverpool argued that Robertson did not touch the ball and even actively ducked out of its path. Therefore, the Merseyside club said Donnarumma was not affected in the incident and the goal was “a subjective decision without clear basis”.
SunSport reports that Liverpool have now made an official request to the English Football Association (PGMOL), headed by former referee Howard Webb, asking the PGMOL to clarify the specific clause of Law 11 – the offside rule – that applies to Van Dijk’s situation.
Under the rules, a player in an offside position is only penalised if he “is directly involved in the play, obstructs an opponent’s play, or has an action which clearly affects an opponent’s ability to play the ball”. Liverpool insist Robertson did not fall into any of these categories.
Speaking after the match, coach Arne Slot admitted that Man City deserved to win but was also upset with the referee’s decision.
“If Van Dijk’s goal had been recognized, the match could have turned in a different direction,” he said.
Meanwhile, Van Dijk insisted his goal was completely legal because Robertson did not obstruct goalkeeper Donnarumma’s vision. “Unfortunately, I am not the one who makes the decision – that is the job of the referee and VAR,” he sarcastically said.
The 0-3 defeat left Liverpool in 8th place in the Premier League , 8 points behind leaders Arsenal. This is also the worst start for a defending champion after 11 rounds since Leicester in the 2016-2017 season.
However, Van Dijk remained optimistic: “There is no point looking at the scoreboard now. The season is decided in March or April. We need to be patient, keep working and wait for our opportunity.”
