The audio recording of the officiating error in Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur is set to be released to the public within a week — but only after it has first been sent to the Merseyside club.
Liverpool officials were incensed that Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed after a breakdown in communication between the VAR officials, Darren England and Dan Cook, and referee Simon Hooper.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body in charge of English officials, is currently conducting a review of the incident that it admitted was “a significant human error”.
Once that is completed, i understands the PGMOL will send the audio to Liverpool before making it available to the public.
Howard Webb, head of the PGMOL, has this season been appearing in monthly Match Officials Mic’d Up shows which airs previously unheard audio from decisions while he explains them. The PGMOL has not ruled out releasing the Diaz audio prior to the next programme, which will be aired early next week.
Liverpool released a statement the day after the game saying the club were exploring “the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution” after the club said “sporting integrity” had been “undermined”.
i revealed on Monday, however, that the club were virtually powerless to seek legal redress for the controversial VAR failure.
“Whilst it is undoubtedly frustrating for Liverpool and its supporters, this is clearly not the first incorrect decision involving VAR since it was introduced, nor will it be the last,” Mishcon de Reya lawyer Oliver Millichap told i.
“However, a disgruntled club will find it extremely difficult to successfully bring a challenge against the Premier League, the PGMOL and the match day officials in connection with the incident for a number of reasons.
“The laws of the game specifically make it clear that any decision by the referee on the pitch is final. These laws even go as far as declaring that match officials will not be liable for any loss a club may suffer due to any decision taken in accordance with the laws of the game.
“In addition, Ifab’s [International Football Association Board] rules in relation to VAR state a match will not be invalidated because of a match official’s decision not to review an incident or where a wrong decision was reached when VAR was used, which appears to be the case here.”
It emerged on Sunday that England and Cook had been officiating a match in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, only arriving back in the UK the day before the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Yet as reported by i, the PGMOL currently has no plans to stop Premier League and EFL referees from freelancing overseas, despite concerns that that fatigue could have influenced the mistake.
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