Jamie Carragher has said it’s ‘unfathomable’ that the audio pertaining to the VAR decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday hasn’t yet been made public.
The Reds have asked the PGMOL for the relevant conversation to be heard, following a statement by the refereeing body in light of the weekend’s controversy that a ‘significant human error’ occurred from a farcical breakdown in communication between the officials on duty (BBC Sport).
The ex-Anfield defender was giving his assessment on the contentious incident on Sky Sports‘ MNF this evening, and he called for the audio to be released so that the public can at least hear the thought process behind the staggeringly inept decision.
Carragher fumed: “I think it is unbelievable that all the parties involved have not released the audio. I find it unfathomable, because the only way Howard Webb and the PGMOL are going to gain any sort of credibility back, on the back of this decision, was to get it out there.
“Yes, he admitted the mistake, and we’d all say ‘yes, it’s a mistake, we’ve all been there’, but the problem they’ve got now is, because the explanation of what’s happened is so random and so bizarre, the longer this goes on, the more people will think they’re trying to put a story together.”
Fans mightn’t disagree with a decision even after hearing the explanation for it, but at least if we got to hear the conversations between referees, we might have a greater appreciation for the thought process and, in turn, would be more likely to accept their reasonings.
However, with such dialogue kept a tightly-guarded secret, supporters and even players and managers are left guessing as to how crucial decisions are arrived upon.
We should be able to hear the discussions which transpire for VAR calls, much like in rugby where viewers are immediately informed as to the conversation between the on-field referee and the TMO.
You can view Carragher’s comments below (from 2:06), via @SkySportsPL on Twitter/X:
"I find it unfathomable" 💬@Carra23 and Frank Lampard react to why the audio from VAR's decision to disallow Luis Díaz's goal against Tottenham has not been released 🎧 pic.twitter.com/ZHNZvmBmUv
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 2, 2023
If pgmol said after the match it was a goal , a definite goal well it should be put as 2 – 2 and a point awarded to each team . Simple