Luis Diaz had a first-half goal disallowed for Liverpool in this evening’s Premier League clash against Tottenham, and it gets harder to fathom with each subsequent look.
The Colombian was played clean through on Spurs’ goal by Mo Salah and duly finished to the net, only for his joy to be swiftly cut short as the assistant referee’s flag was raised.
Gary Neville said in commentary for Sky Sports that he was ‘mystified’ by the decision, and the reporter providing live web updates for the broadcaster (18:04) was adamant that the 26-year-old ‘looked on to me’.
There was a very brief VAR check which came to nought, but when screenshots of the point that the ball was played through were shared on social media, they showed that Diaz looked clearly onside thanks to Cristian Romero’s outstretched left leg.
The more you look at it, the more baffling it seems that the goal was disallowed. Another Premier League game dogged by inexplicable refereeing calls.
You can see the image below (screenshotted from Viaplay Sports’ match coverage), via @nocontextfooty on Twitter/X:
— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) September 30, 2023
Proud of the lads tonight, numerous mystifying decisions against us & yet we still played our game. Come on you Mighty Reds
England has one if not the worst footballing officials in the world. A big big shame to their referees and VAR officials. Fucking shame that such a good league is laced with the worst officiating decisions. Shame to EPL officials. Little wonder they often get overlooked in international competitions.
England has one if not the worst footballing officials in the world. A big big shame to their referees and VAR officials. Fucking shame that such a good league is laced with the worst officiating decisions. Shame to EPL officials. Little wonder they often get overlooked in international competitions.
Shocking. The match officials had every opportunity to create a line across the pitch (Diaz goal) and carefully review these tackles (Jota and Jones)- but they didn’t. The only conclusion I can reach is that we have been the victims of co-ordinated cheating – which bring the game into disrepute. However, there is a solution. A yellow card should be a warning and a red card should be a forced substitution. That way, any errors by the match officials can be mitigated to a certain extent. If subsequent review proves the red carded player committed a serious offence then deal with it at the tribunal. We pay good money to watch these games, we deserve to see fair contests- not 11 vs 9 and referee influenced outcomes.