PGMOL confirm VAR changes after Liverpool farce in new statement on Diaz offside

VAR brought under question after Luis Diaz decision | Football Digest

The PGMOL has announced three key changes to VAR after Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham was wrongly ruled out for offside. It comes after the audio between the match officials overseeing the game was released, with it made clear that VAR Darren England believed the on-field decision had been to award Diaz’s strike. 

England incorrectly believed that Diaz, who thought he had given Liverpool a 1-0 lead against Spurs, was adjudged to have been onside by the assistant referee. But instead, the assistant had ruled that the Colombian had strayed into an offside position before collecting Mohamed Salah’s pass. 

The PGMOL has announced that it will make three changes to how VAR operates after conducting a review into the situation. It will reiterate to referees that the speed of their decisions cannot come at the expense of accuracy, while a new communication protocol will enhance the clarity of any decision. 

VAR officials will also confirm their decision with their assistant before announcing it to the on-field referee. A statement read: “PGMOL can confirm that we have carried out a review into the circumstances which led to the Luis Diaz goal being incorrectly disallowed for offside in the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC.

“We recognise standards fell short of expectations and acknowledged the error to Liverpool immediately after the conclusion of the fixture.

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“A detailed report, including the key learnings and immediate actions taken, alongside the audio between the on-field officials and VAR team has been submitted to the Premier League, who have shared it with Liverpool FC and subsequently all other Premier League Clubs.

“The review of the on-field and VAR decision-making processes and application of the decision-making principles has identified the following key learnings to mitigate against the risk of a future error:

“Guidance to Video Match Officials has always emphasised the need for efficiency, but never at the expense of accuracy. This principle will be clearly reiterated.

“A new VAR Communication Protocol will be developed to enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions.

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“As an additional step to the process, the VAR will confirm the outcome of the VAR check process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-field officials.”

The PGMOL has also pledged to review allowing its referees to officiate matches outside of their Premier League, EFL, UEFA and FIFA appointments. It emerged after England’s error on Saturday that he had been overseeing a game in the UAE just 48 hours before kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

England and his assistant VAR, Dan Cook, were taken off their appointments on Sunday and have been withdrawn from the upcoming weekend’s Premier League matches. 

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