Fresh footage shared by a Reddit user has reignited debate over one of the biggest talking points from Liverpool’s 3–2 defeat to Brentford, with the new angle appearing to show that the contact involving Virgil van Dijk occurred outside the penalty area.
Alternative Van Dijk angle questions VAR decision against Liverpool
The clip, posted by user NEEZ8, appears to capture the Dutch defender’s challenge on Dango Ouattara from a wider perspective, and it seems to indicate that any contact was made just outside the box.
That’s significant because referee Tim Robinson initially awarded a free-kick before VAR intervened to upgrade it to a penalty – a decision that led to Igor Thiago scoring what proved to be the winning goal for the home side.
Liverpool didn’t play well in west London, but it’s hard to ignore how decisive this moment proved to be.
If the foul took place outside the area, the game could have ended 2–2 and given us a real chance to regain some form.
Mark Clattenburg had said that “Van Dijk clearly made contact with Dango Ouattara’s foot on the line of the penalty area,” adding that the line “is part of the penalty area.”
But this new footage will have fans wondering whether VAR’s take was wrong all along.
Liverpool’s fine margins and VAR controversy grow
Arne Slot has now seen his side lose four Premier League games in a row, our worst run since 2021, and while the performance at Brentford wasn’t up to standard – these marginal calls keep going against us.
It was the only decision in this match either, with Cody Gakpo’s penalty incident also proving to be a contentious decision that turned the game’s tide.
We’ve conceded two or more goals in nine of our last ten league matches, and until we start getting things right, it’ll be tough to stop losing games.
Still, when even online clips start painting a different picture from what VAR decided, it’s hard not to feel that luck has worked against us here.
You can view the image of Van Dijk’s challenge via Reddit:
This was reviewed and given as a pen
byu/NEEZ8 inLiverpoolFC
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It was an egregious intervention by VAR. Whatever happened to ‘clear and obvious’? I turns the once fantastic and spontaneous game into farce. Get rid and let us enjoy football as it was meant to be.
Its a pen. The identity.age shows its on the line.😮💨
You see the same image, right? Sorry, the same identity-age. Van Dijk’s foot is marginally on the line – other fella outside the box. If that’s clear and obvious and demands overturning, the game has serious issues.
Eye’d say Stefan is looking through compound (or a rival club’s) eyes, TC.
Another clear and obvious error made by V.A.R. that the referee has goofed up.
Did the replacement referee REALLY come on because the original had a minor injury, or is there cover up for something else ?
A “head injury” perhaps ?
Liverpool have to expect any decision that can go against them, will go against them. It’s been like this since Klopp took over.
But yet Liverpool continue to be labelled like they get all the VAR decisions their way.
Aye, some rival fans have no principles, it appears, Pug.
Immaterial really. We must accept that we can only get absolute clear decisions in games as there is so much anti-LFC with officials in a game.
…and will that now be the conditioned normality forever, Jason ?
That’s what they call a glass ceiling.
It can sometimes mean there is corruption occurring.
This is what happens when you struggling, you pick up Injuries, you concede last minute goals and you get decisions going against you that are marginal. No doubt at the moment our luck is right out, but at the start of the season we were getting the luck winning games at the death. The only way to turn things around is for the players to work harded, and for the manager to organise the team better without ball. Lots has said about the transfers in the summer, everyone is having their say that we made too many changes, too many signings. I wouldn’t totally agree.
With the tragic death of jota we had to replace him. Nunez was always going to be sold, how many Liverpool fans have complained about the lack of a natural goalscorer. Fsg showed ambition with the signings of isak and Ekitike, these two will be a success at Liverpool, i have no doubt about that. Sort out the defending without the ball and with the attacking players we have we can beat anyone.
Perhaps the exact same circumstances will occur in another match in the EPL (or European competition) in the near future ?
It’ll be interesting to see how, when technology provides conclusive evidence, the decision making develops then (and benefits which clubs).
I’d also be very interested to hear from the likes of the PGMOL/EPL/UEFA/FIFA in an accountable capacity (not just ex-refs giving an opinion after the fact when it no longer matters), exactly what they think.
The ref says the line of the penalty box is part of the box. So if you stand on someone’s fot on the line it is a penalty. So surely if the ball is on the goal line and cleared of the line it should be a goal
You’ve hit a nail on the head there, ian77 !
There’s similar issue over the sidelines for throw-ins and end-of-field lines either side of the goalposts for corners/goal kicks.
Nobody from the authorities of the game seems to be prepared to state officially and indelibly as to what the standard is across all games.
It’s preventing all fans (and officials/V.A.R.)from singing from the same rulebook.
Other rule changes are often not stated as publicly and widely as they should be.
i.e. GK’s time wasting leading to corners and the three-man-wall ruling.
Can the football programmes (MotD/FootballFocus etc.) not put these out ?
The authorities have been very clear about goal line tech rules, but less so with other borders of the pitch.
Why ?
Surely the clearing up these (mis)interpretations makes it easier to sell the game to newcomers, as well as helping youngsters to appreciate rules in other areas of society ?
The integral part of that statement is ‘The ball’. Which the rules state must be completely over the line for a goal to be awarded. Similarly the entire ball has to cross the line for a corner or a throw-in or goal kick. All of these instances are to do with the ball being out of play.
Whilst in-play the lines are used to map the pitch for in play decisions. Such as penalties or the goalie picking up the ball. Or the old goal kick rule….
Agree with the “whole of the ball must cross the whole of the line”, Stefan.
If that’s the rule as it stands, it makes sense to make the rule uniform across all areas of the pitch.
Unfortunately, without better DETECTION of the “whole of the ball crossing the whole of the line” for the pitch perimeter/penalty area, (in the same way goal line tech is used) there will be game-to-game differences when it comes down to human judgment.
Could we fix this by “chipping” the ball and having super fast, highly accurate GPS in use ?
Could we use such tech by tagging players in the same way for offside decisions ?
A computer could flag such instantly (and buzz the ref’s watch) saving having to wait for for V.A.R human element.
Maybe we could, but it’s an expensive rabbit hole.
Is there the political will to go so far to remove those grey areas in adjudication ?
Intelligent writing, fellas.
Here’s some more food for thought..
At the end of last night’s Wrexham/Cardiff game, the ref got finicky and checked to see if the ball that was about to be kicked from a corner had at least a millimetre of it overhanging the outer edge of the quadrant line.
That wasted another 20-25 seconds.
Why do players take the mickey over this ?
Will it make any difference as to where the ball ends up the box ?
Maybe for clearer appearances’ sake, clubs should make the quadrants a little bigger (not enough so that the offside rule is breached hopefully) and rule makers then insist players take the corner with the ball FULLY on the quadrant line, as with a penalty would be from the spot.
The way some players do it now, it looks like some kind of an OCD issue.
aaah mr.Arne slot all teams we were beating on records, have started conteplating us rather undermining liverpool as a small team coz when you are playing those small the difference is similarity . those small teams these days are no longer giving liverpool respect and they play like they are playing under dog which is bad. the system of 4-2-3-1.always concedes an early goal i.e crystal palace, chelsea , man utd all have been early goals. Let’s say as per now ,you would have stick on our old formation of 4-3-3. i think it brings in some balance in both midfield and defense. And very very sure Mr. Arne slot that you can’t beat brighton albion using that formation of 4-2-3-1. So mr. Arne slot check out yourself because you are hurting us our hearts on liverpool yet we are liverpool diehard and we have even lost our hope of watching liverpool games because we expect loss in every game compared to last year. bambi help us winning the games and we even fear carabao game against crystal palace expecting a loss again but i wish liverpoolfc the best. all the way from uganda . whatsapp telephone no. +256772860762.
Same source as RM. Sure police will be watching his phone now.
You’ll be fine.
I still maintain that the referees are incompetent. Every referee does his own thing. I was shocked when VAR overruled the free kick and awarded a penalty. It makes you think – are these guys getting paid to let certain teams win? We can only wonder. I can recall several instances when Klopp was in charge too.Handballs were ignored foul play inside the box as well. Referees have always been against LFC. YNWA
Sorry Ria, but similar mistakes and perceived injustices have happened in sport before the Romans built the Coliseum.
If you were a ref, would you turn a blind eye to a grey area during a match because you were under pressure ?
It’s human nature.
Any corruption that becomes suspected (because there is policing) is handled behind closed doors for diplomacy.
It is a very serious criminal offence, hence the employment of so many ex-policemen in the job.
The Cootes incident was of public interest and worked to keep others on their toes as to what is expected to do the job.
Technology can help discern the details of a decision, but whether the powers-that-be choose something like the use of Ai to enforce a standardisation of the clear and up-to-date rules across football is still unclear at the moment.
Whether seasons of irrefutable injustices build up to make a coherent argument that those powers-that-be cannot ignore is something that appears to be ongoing….😉
Hope it helps, a bit.😃
If referees were paid to let certain teams win, the audit trail would show it with their personal accounts. Refs have to be unimpeachable. They could go to prison if found out. The higher authorities have the means to do so.
For instance, an e-mail account is required to send posts to this LFC forum. If a person was using it to abuse others, whether with inappropriate language, or with a continual bombarding of youngsters with what could be seen as psychological grooming at every opportunity, that person would then become of interest.
The powers-that-be would have to be informed and they would have the technology to locate that person, check their internet history, current status etc.
LFC pride themselves as a family club and the websites affiliated that provide a service to that ethic, will always provide a protection and safe place for fans young and old, to express themselves without fear of bullies that claim their free speech is the freedom to act irresponsibly.
Sorry for the spelling error. I meant to write image…
Anyway let’s get this straight. Im a lifelong Liverpool fan (over 45 years).
In the image you can see Virgils foot on the line obscuring the attackers boot. The part of the attackers boot that you can see is behind the line. If you add the toe part of the boot which is obscured you will realise that it was most likely in contact with the line. If that is the case the the Referee has made a clear and obvious error.
I was gutted but it is what it is. If we had played better then this wouldn’t be a problem. VAR is not the reason we are languishing in 7th.
Nothing to do about it now, I suppose, Stefan.
These things even up eventually and also other rivals don’t get the rub of the green on occasion.
Such are things the way they are atm.
Sticking one over on Palace tonight might ease the irritation.
Chiesa seems determined on the back of today’s Echo.
Looks like Arne’s going to give Woodman a go. Should be interesting…