VAR technology cock-up failed to catch potential Arsenal offside goal against Liverpool

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A further update on Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal will pile on yet more misery for Jurgen Klopp’s men after it emerged that the provider of VAR technology, Hawk-Eye, failed to fulfil their duties.

A possible offside position occupied by Bukayo Saka in the buildup to Gabriel Martinelli’s early opener was missed as the former was completely out of shot of the cameras used to determine an in-game offence.

“The VAR set the kick-point on Ben White, who played the pass to Saka, and then looked to use one of the other cameras, which are all time-synced, to apply the offside lines,” Dale Johnson wrote for ESPN.

“Technology provider Hawk-Eye has five cameras around the pitch which can be used to place the offside lines, but Saka was out of shot on all of them at the point the ball was played by White.

“From the tactical camera around the halfway line, which isn’t calibrated for offside, there is definitely a question of offside against Saka as he’s running back, specifically whether his back foot is ahead of the last defender, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“But as the VAR could not apply the lines, Saka’s offside position cannot be determined so the VAR has to stay with the decision on the pitch, which was onside.”

The Merseysiders were far from convincing for much of the proceedings, though it’s quite unfortunate that a spotlight has been shined on one of two dubious calls made during the clash.

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We can’t argue that a win was a deserved result for the FA Cup holders, though it seems more than unfair that a share of the spoils was denied thanks to a technological error outside of our control.

Hopefully, there won’t be a repeat of such circumstances for Manchester City’s visit to Anfield in less than a week’s time, though it should set the alarm bells ringing for fans of the Premier League.

Never mind the possibility that Liverpool have lost points as a result – Hawk-Eye and VAR will have invited even closer scrutiny of their handling of English top-flight games, and rightly so.

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