Liverpool Cry Babies Or VAR Nightmares? Either Way, Essential VAR Changes Are On The Way

The game was intense. Filled with all the drama you could ask for, whether you are a Liverpool, Tottenham, or a fan of another team, you couldn’t help but wonder. It had goals, dirty tackles, red cards, and the dreaded VAR drama that Liverpool couldn’t stop crying about until this day.

Granted, now that the PGMOL released the audio from the VAR hub upon the request of Liverpool, you can’t deny that it was the wrong decision. Liverpool did kick up a massive fuss, and so would we if we were in their shoes.

What went on behind those closed doors of the elusive VAR hub sprung into the limelight with the PGMOL, bringing into question the validity of VAR altogether. How many wrong decisions has it made previously? Multiple games have left fans scratching their heads when it seems so obvious the VAR result was incorrect.

The Tottenham Vs. Liverpool game and the subsequent VAR audio have sparked new changes in how officials reach decisions. Read on to find out more.

The Tottenham Vs. Liverpool Game

The game was relatively smooth sailing for the first 26 minutes. That was until Curtis Jones received a red card that put Liverpool down to ten men. Before that, Liverpool seemed to be the stronger side during the away game after Luis Diaz and Mac Allister had opportunities within the first five minutes.

That sparked a Spurs retaliation as we charged down the field at the defence, but to no avail. It was a relatively even back-and-forth match – and so were the bets on websites like 32 red sport – until the 26th minute, when a dirty tackle by Jones on Yves Bissouma was awarded a yellow card – after a quick VAR review, the yellow turned red. Deserved!

But that was just the beginning of Liverpool’s VAR woes. Still, that didn’t stop Diaz from charging down the field and netting a respectable stormer after a clean Salah pass – it was offside (the drama). The mighty Son took advantage of the downfall and found the net in the 36th minute. Gakpo levelled 4 minutes into extra time, and the teams went down the tunnels.

The second half was dominated by Spurs after the half-time Liverpool sub, Diago Jota, gathered two yellow cards. Matip then put a low cross in the back of his own net, and the game was over. The drama, however, lives on.

The VAR Controversy

The VAR controversy comes from the Diaz goal being offside. Liverpool argued (to be fair, rightly so) that the goal wasn’t offside. When you watch it back, you can see it wasn’t. At the time, because of the media noise, Liverpool seemed like cry babies.

But now the PGMOL released the audio and admitted significant human error – with Klopp arguing it’s helping nobody and demanding a rematch – it’s easy to see why they generated the noise. You can listen to the audio here. It begged the question – how many wrong VAR results decided the fate of a game?

The VAR Changes On The Way

PGMOL chief Howard Webb set to work to make immediate changes. The changes were to reiterate the communication protocols – officials now have to have clear clarification from on-field officials that they understood and agree with the VAR result. That includes changing the term from ‘check complete’ to ‘check complete, decision offside’.

Howard Webb is also pushing the International Football Association Board for changes to VAR decisions that will allow them to be reversible, which would arguably change many of the ‘supposedly wrong’ results delivered before.

The VAR controversy has raised many eyebrows, bringing into question its entire validity. Surely, as fans, you’ve watched many games and thought, ‘How did they decide that?’ Still, we’re not the experts – and clearly, neither are the PGMOL.