VAR’s Worst Error Yet

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was created to remove human error in refereeing soccer matches and has been widely implemented at the top levels of the game. Recently, VAR faced criticism regarding the inconsistency of its decisions. Time and time again, fans see coin-flip decisions go one way or the other just depending on the game, and the lack of transparency from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the governing body of the refereeing association in the Premier League, only furthers distrust between fans and referees. However, early into this Premier League season, we saw what is doubtless the worst error that has occurred under VAR, one that sparked debate about its implementation. VAR itself and the technology used are not the problem; the issue lies in human errors that stem from poor protocols.

On September 30, Liverpool faced Tottenham in North London, in the weekend’s biggest fixture. Only 25 minutes into the match, Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones received a red card after his foot slid over the ball and into an opponent. This red card was already a point of argument, as VAR has been shown to use slow motion and still images that make challenges like Jones’s look worse than they actually are. The decision could have gone either way but was an especially harsh start for Liverpool, who were set on the back foot in a pivotal away game with 65 minutes to play. However, the Reds didn’t stay down for long, managing to gain a lead in the 33rd minute through left winger Luis Díaz’s goal—or so it seemed. The linesman raised his flag to initiate an offside check, but less than 20 seconds later the goal was disallowed and play resumed. Commentators and people at home could tell that Díaz was onside by at least a yard, and were left puzzled when the lines weren’t even drawn and play resumed. Two minutes later, Tottenham responded by scoring one of their own, as forward Heung-Min Son secured a 1-0 Tottenham lead off a tap-in. Forward Cody Gakpo managed to equalize for Liverpool before halftime, but Liverpool had to fight a long uphill battle from there. It wasn’t long before they had another disaster on their plate, as forward Diogo Jota picked up two quick yellows to bring the Reds down to nine men. This red card was also a point of debate, as the first yellow that Jota received was for a “tackle” which was really an opponent diving, with no clear contact. To have this many decisions go against them, Liverpool were lucky to even be in this game and only lost to a 96th-minute own goal after fighting tooth and nail for the remainder of the game. 

After the game, it was clear that the refereeing had had a huge impact on the result. Liverpool left with no points and stood fourth in the Premier League, while Tottenham rose to the top of the table, with more results going in favor of new manager Ange Postecoglou. Though some may say that this was just one result of many and that poor refereeing is sometimes unpreventable, note that the Premier League has been decided on a single point twice in the last five years. Thus, the results of every game are of utmost importance to the integrity of the league. The main talking point after the match was the horrendous decision to disallow Díaz’s clearly onside goal. After scrutiny from pundits, Liverpool, their players, coaches, and fans, the PGMOL issued an apology. “PGMOL acknowledges a significant human occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool. The goal by Díaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials. This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention. However, VAR failed to intervene,” the PGMOL said. 

The apology was ill-received, as many pointed out that errors always happen and fail to be corrected by VAR, and then teams are only compensated with an apology. VAR was brought in to remove the human errors that occurred in the game, but if they cannot even get the offside calls correct, what was the point? If the black-and-white calls that VAR are supposed to get right are not, there isn’t a major difference from what we had before: human error. I don’t think VAR is the culprit, but rather those operating VAR in the Premier League. For example, using semi-automated technology in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the objectives and decisions were never wrong. Liverpool demanded the audio recordings of the match, and when they were begrudgingly released, it revealed the true problem with VAR and how such an error could even exist. The issue from the audio was not a technological error but rather a communications error. The VAR team drew the correct lines, but lead VAR official Darren England did not seem to know the on-field decision. England relayed the message “check complete” to the on-field referees, but no specific call. As the on-field decision was offside, they assumed that the check confirmed meant that the goal was offside. However, England thought he was affirming the goal and that it was given on the field. The audio demonstrated the chaos and disarray that the state of communications was in, where a single “check complete” and a few meaningless passes later, the decision was finalized, and according to England, there was nothing the officiating crew could do within the Laws of the Game to award the goal. 

First of all, having this big of an error means that none of the four people operating VAR were watching the game. After Díaz scores, the camera pans to the linesman with his flag up, Liverpool players with their hands in their heads, and Tottenham getting ready for a free-kick. If any one of those people were watching the game, they would know that “check complete” would give an offside. Not bringing the game back was also another mistake, even if it is in the Laws of the Game. This error superseded any law that states you cannot bring back a decision if play restarted, as it was objectively and obviously wrong with huge consequences.

This error affects not just Liverpool but also every other team in the league, as the integrity of the game is dependent on the consistency of officiating. When things like these happen, it’s important to take away the positives, further improve the quality of officiating, and make sure that things like these will never happen again. If it wasn’t Liverpool that day, it would have been another team the next week, or another team thereafter. This was an overall unfortunate event for everyone involved, including Tottenham, who still won but faced criticism for not deserving the win. Tottenham has had one of the best starts in Premier League history so far, earning 26 out of 30 points, so it is a shame to have the focus on officiating when they have otherwise been in fantastic form. Overall, both the PGMOL as an organization and referees as a group need to reform the poor standards that make one of the most powerful sports technologies ever rendered useless by a few misspoken words.