The Premier League has released a statement to explain why Cody Gakpo’s goal for Liverpool against Aston Villa on Saturday was chalked off.
The Dutchman had the ball in the visitors’ net 10 minutes into the second half at Anfield, only for John Brooks to disallow it for an offside in the lead-up after consulting the pitchside VAR monitor.
Luis Diaz got his head to a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross, with the ball hitting off Ezri Konsa on its way to Virgil van Dijk – who was initially in an offside position but appeared to be played on by the deflection – with the move ending in the Netherlands forward finishing to the net after a scramble.
However, a statement from the Premier League (via The Mirror) read: “The VAR recommended a review and referee John Brooks determined it was a deflection off Ezri Konsa, not a deliberate play.”
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To us, that explanation seems rather baffling – the VAR footage shows the Aston Villa defender sticking out his leg to divert the ball, even if it did hit from close range from Diaz’s header. In turn, that ought to have played Van Dijk offside.
It seemed even more frustrating watching in real-time as it was quite hard to fathom why the goal was disallowed, whereas if FIFA changed their rules so that VAR discussions could be heard by viewers during a game, at least supporters would have a better idea of the often inexplicable decision-making process.
It was one of several decisions from the officials both on and off the pitch yesterday, with Konsa’s centre-back partner Tyrone Mings incredibly lucky not to have been sent off for a disgusting kick into Gakpo’s chest during the first half.
Liverpool’s performance overall wasn’t good enough to merit anything more than a point, but they certainly weren’t helped by Brooks and his team when it came to potential game-changing calls, and the Premier League’s explanation for the disallowed goal doesn’t offer any solace whatsoever.
It’s no wonder Chris Sutton and Robbie Savage on BT Sport were so shocked when they saw it was chalked off.