PGMOL release VAR audio of Luis Diaz disallowed goal in Tottenham vs Liverpool | OneFootball

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The Premier League's refereeing body the PGMOL have released the full VAR audio relating to Luis Diaz's disallowed goal for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, giving fans insight into the chaos which was happening behind the scenes during the game.

The incident was the most controversial moment of the weekend, and arguably the worst VAR decision since the technology was introduced to the English top-flight. Jurgen Klopp's side thought they had scored despite being reduced to 10 men after Curtis Jones was shown a red card, with Diaz being played through on goal and burying his shot superbly. The linesman subsequently raised his flag, and although replays appeared to show that the Colombian was onside when the ball was played, VAR failed to intervene and conducted a surprisingly quick check.

Tottenham ended up winning the match 2-1, courtesy of an own goal from Joel Matip in the 96th minute of the game, but the PGMOL was forced to issue a statement after the match which admitted that there had been a 'significant human error' and that Diaz's goal should have stood. VAR expert Dale Johnson then explained why the goal was disallowed, explaining that the VAR official, Darren England, believed that the on-field decision was a goal.

PGMOL release audio

Following the incident and the statement, there have been requests to release the audio recordings from the match for greater transparency. Liverpool called for exactly that in a strongly worded statement, while club icon Jamie Carragher also stated that the VAR audio must be released. The Reds requested that the PGMOL send over the audio on Monday, and on Tuesday evening, the body made the footage available to the public on the Premier League's website. And it reveals just how much confusion there was about the whole incident.

Throughout the video, viewers can hear every word spoken by the on-field officials as well as those in the VAR room, although it is stressed at the start of the video that the on-field referee did not hear all of the audio in the VAR room, only the comments which are directed to him.

It begins with the Liverpool throw-in, which is directed to Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian then plays a ball in behind for Diaz to race on to, who finishes superbly past Guglielmo Vicario. During the passage of play, VAR flags a potential offside and the assistant referee informs the referee that he is delaying his offside call. Once the Colombian converts his shot, they pull the game back for the potential offside.

The VAR then states that he is checking the offside, telling the on-field referee to delay the resumption of play while they investigate. They locate the kick point, before then finding angles which feature Diaz and bringing in the 2D lines. Those lines clearly show that the Liverpool attacker is onside, and England can be heard saying, "check complete."

After play resumes, though, the replay operator can be heard panicking, saying, "wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside." Confusion then followed between the VAR and his assistant, Dan Cook, with both of them realising that a mistake has been made. Swearing from England follows, and the replay operator states that the PGMOL Hubs Operator is calling in to delay the game.

However, both the VAR and assistant VAR point out that nothing can be done as the game has restarted, despite them both realising there has been a colossal error. Little did they know just how much it would go on to effect the result. You can watch the full footage for yourselves below. It's complete and utter chaos.

Video: Referee audio of disallowed Diaz goal vs Tottenham

The PGMOL also provided the following information on the Premier League's website: "As stated shortly after the full-time whistle on Saturday evening, we acknowledged in a statement that a significant human error had occurred during the aforementioned match, which we recognise should have resulted in a goal being awarded through VAR intervention.

"As with all goal situations, the VAR team checked every aspect of the goal. After the on-field officials had disallowed the goal for offside, the checking phase and process started and was carried out correctly by the VAR. The kick-point selection was accurate and the use of a single 2D line on the foot of the second rear-most defender was also correctly positioned.

"The image created showed that Luis Diaz was clearly onside, without the need for the insertion of a second line. In a lapse of concentration and loss of focus in that moment, the VAR lost sight of the on field decision and he incorrectly communicated “check complete”, therefore inadvertently confirming the on-field decision. He did this without any dialogue with the AVAR [Assistant VAR].

"The match then restarted immediately. After a few seconds, the Replay Operator and then the AVAR queried the check-complete outcome with the VAR and asked him to review the image that had been created, pointing out that the original on-field decision had been offside, but this was not communicated to the on-field team at any point during the match.

"The VAR team then gave consideration as to whether the game could be stopped at that point, however the VAR and AVAR concluded that the VAR protocol within the Laws of the Game would not permit that to happen, and they decided intervention was not possible as play had restarted.

"The audio between the on-field team of match officials and the VAR team is below.

"PGMOL has carried out a review into the circumstances which led to this incorrect outcome and the subsequent learnings will be implemented to mitigate the risk of errors occurring in the future."

In a separate statement, they acknowledged that "standards fell shorts," and that a report had been submitted to the Premier League which has been shared with all other Premier League clubs. They also confirmed that both England and Cook have not been selected for refereeing duty for upcoming Premier League fixtures.

"PGMOL can confirm that we have carried out a review into the circumstances which led to the Luis Diaz goal being incorrectly disallowed for offside in the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC.

"We recognise standards fell short of expectations and acknowledged the error to Liverpool immediately after the conclusion of the fixture.

"A detailed report, including the key learnings and immediate actions taken, alongside the audio between the on-field officials and VAR team has been submitted to the Premier League, who have shared it with Liverpool FC and subsequently all other Premier League Clubs.

"The review of the on-field and VAR decision-making processes and application of the decision-making principles has identified the following key learnings to mitigate against the risk of a future error:

- Guidance to Video Match Officials has always emphasised the need for efficiency, but never at the expense of accuracy. This principle will be clearly reiterated

- A new VAR Communication Protocol will be developed to enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions

- As an additional step to the process, the VAR will confirm the outcome of the VAR check process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-field officials

"PGMOL are committed to enhancing VAR performance through a new training programme which started this season and focuses on process and best practice for all VARs, AVARs and Replay Operators in their specific roles. While we have a number of FIFA-recognised VARs, work is ongoing to create a dedicated pool of VAR specialists.

"The VAR and AVAR in question were removed from their remaining fixtures in Match Round 7 in the Premier League and have not been included in the appointments for Match Round 8 this weekend.