A sports lawyer has explained a technicality which’d entitle Liverpool to ask for a replay of their defeat to Tottenham last weekend, but has said it’d be ‘very difficult’ to see materialising.
In a statement issued by the Reds following the controversy over Luis Diaz’s wrongly disallowed goal against Spurs, the club sought to ‘explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution’.
This was misconstrued by many social media users – and even some journalists – as the Merseysiders asking for the game to be replayed, but The Athletic‘s James Pearce subsequently clarified that LFC ‘fully accept the outcome’ of the match and never made any demand for a replay.
Speaking to The Mirror, Stephen Taylor Heath, co-head of Sports Law at JMW Solicitors, pointed out the fine print which’d technically allow Liverpool to seek to have the initial result annulled and the fixture played again.
He explained: “Rule L18 outlines that the Premier League board has the power to order a league match to be replayed provided that recommendation to that effect has been made by a commission under rule W51.
“In addition to this, under rule W1, the Premier League’s board has the power to inquire about any suspected breach of rules, including those made by a match official, while rule N4 ensures that each match official agrees to be bound by the laws of the game as well as any protocols and FA rules.
“There is therefore a possibility that Liverpool could lobby the Premier League board to convene a commission which would have the power, among others, to order the match to be replayed.”
However, Taylor Heath added that “it would be very difficult for Liverpool to establish that the error itself cost them points in a legal sense given the infinite scenarios that could have arisen had the goal stood – for example, it is not the same as a horse race where the error is as to the winner at the end of a race.”
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Let’s be full sure about one thing here – even though Liverpool might have grounds to request a replay, they’ve already made it clear that they won’t do that, before any naysayers decide to misconstrue Taylor Heath’s findings in the same way they did with the club’s statement on Sunday night.
Even in a scenario where the Reds push to have the match replayed, how likely would it be that the Premier League grant their wish?
You can be sure Tottenham wouldn’t appreciate being told they could lose the three points they won on Saturday because of the failings of Darren England on VAR. Spurs did nothing wrong and have no case to answer here, so they don’t deserve to be discommoded as a consequence.
As Pearce pointed out for The Athletic, Liverpool have never demanded a replay. The main things they’re seeking from last weekend’s events are:
- ‘a transparent investigation into the procedural failings so lessons are learned going forward’
- ‘an explanation as to why the decision was taken so quickly and why there was no intervention when the mix-up quickly became apparent’
Regarding the first point, the PGMOL said on Tuesday that a ‘detailed report, including the key learnings and immediate actions taken, has been submitted to the Premier League, who have shared it with Liverpool FC and subsequently all other Premier League clubs’ (Sky Sports).
As for the second point, that explanation has been provided with the public sharing of the conversation between the officials on VAR relating to Diaz’s disallowed goal, which has exposed England as making a horrendous error and hiding behind the rule book in a refusal to remedy it.
Put simply, there won’t be a replay. Liverpool have already achieved plenty by shaming the PGMOL into releasing the audio explaining how such a farcical mess was made, and hopefully taking longer-lasting actions to improve the standard of refereeing in this country.
Regardless of the outcome, there is still the goal itself that is to be tallied on the table. That was a goal for LFC.