Diaz vs Tottenham and Doku penalty: Liverpool’s controversial VAR decisions this season

Cameron Smith

• 10 Mar 2024 21:31 GMT
• 11 min read

VAR has been an inherently controversial addition to the Premier League since it was introduced ahead of the 2019-20 season and Liverpool have been on the end of several dubious calls.

The Reds have seen decisions go for and against them since VAR was introduced and this season has been no different.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through every controversial VAR decision involving Liverpool during the 2023-24 season.

FOR LIVERPOOL

Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth (19 August 2023): Dominik Szoboszlai penalty

Referee Thomas Bramall awarded Liverpool a penalty in the first-half of their win over Bournemouth after Joe Rothwell was adjudged to have Dominik Szoboszlai inside the 18-yard box.

However, there was very little contact, if any at all, despite the fact Rothwell dangled out a leg.

The real crime was that VAR did not recommend an on-field review, even though several angles suggested that Szoboszlai dived.

Liverpool 2-0 Everton (21 October 2023): Michael Keane handball

This incident was initially missed by Craig Pawson, with the referee awarding a corner kick instead of a penalty.

However, Michael Keane was subsequently penalised for a handball in the Merseyside derby after a Luis Diaz cross hit his hand. Pawson missed the incident, but VAR overruled his initial decision and Jurgen Klopp’s side were awarded a spot-kick, with the score 0-0 at the time.

Under the current laws of the game, VAR made the right call as the ball did strike Keane’s outstretched arm, but it was somewhat controversial given the ex-Burnley man was in very close proximity to Diaz. Ultimately, this was the right decision, however.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool (9 December 2023): Virgil van Dijk penalty

Virgil van Dijk got away with one here as he brought down Odsonne Edouard inside the penalty area and was punished with a yellow card and a penalty against his side.

However, the decision was overturned by VAR due to a foul in the build-up. Palace midfielder Will Hughes was judged to have fouled Japan international Wataru Endo before passing the ball to Edouard, with the penalty being overturned in favour of a Liverpool free-kick by VAR.

It probably should have been given as a foul in real time, but the major crime and controversial element of this decision was how long the VAR review took.

In total, referee Andy Madley was shown 24 replays of the foul and the match did not restart until four minutes after the penalty was awarded.

Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle (9 December 2023): Diogo Jota penalty

Now, this was a controversial one. With Diogo Jota through on goal against Newcastle, he rounded Martin Dubravka inside the penalty area and proceeded to fall over several steps after going past the Slovakian, with the goal gaping.

Gary Neville stated that it shouldn't have been a penalty on Sky Sports commentary and Alan Shearer slammed Jota for being "f******* embarrassing."

There was very minimal contact from Dubravka, but Anthony Taylor decided to give a penalty on-field and VAR did not intervene.

Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea (31 January 2024): Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku and Diogo Jota penalties

This game saw Liverpool run out deserving winners after a brilliant performance against Chelsea, although the result could have been far different with several VAR decisions.

Firstly, Conor Gallagher's appeal for a first-half penalty was waved away by Paul Tierney, despite the fact there was clear contact from Virgil van Dijk. In the second-half, the Dutchman got away with another one as kicked the back of Christopher Nkunku's foot with no punishment.

VAR did not recommend an on-field review for either decision.

The most controversial element of this game, however, was that Liverpool were awarded a first-half penalty after a foul from Benoit Badiashile on Diogo Jota. While it can be argued that giving a penalty was the right decision, there was the same level of contact on Jota as there was on both Gallagher and Nkunku, yet Chelsea weren't awarded penalties and Liverpool were.

This will go down as a referee error rather than a VAR one, though, as the decisions on their own weren't wrong enough to demand a VAR intervention.

AGAINST LIVERPOOL

Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth (19 August 2023): Alexis Mac Allister red card

Alexis Mac Allister was shown a red card on just his second competitive Liverpool appearance after a tackle on Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie.

The Argentina star was sent off by referee Thomas Bramall after he caught Christie with his boot as both players lunged for a bouncing ball.

The on-field decision stood and wasn’t overturned by VAR Paul Tierney, despite the fact Mac Allister’s challenge barely caught Christie, both players went for the ball and it wasn’t reckless.

The red card was soon overturned by the FA after Liverpool appealed the decision, proving that Mac Allister shouldn’t have been sent off in the first place.

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool (30 September 2023): Luis Diaz goal

This is the most controversial VAR decision since the technology was introduced in the Premier League.

With the score 0-0 at the time, Luis Diaz was played through on goal by Mohamed Salah and he finished expertly to give Liverpool the lead. However, the Colombian was incorrectly judged to have been in an offside position by the linesman.

As a result, the goal wasn’t given and VAR was handed the reins to check the lines and ensure Diaz was offside.

However, despite the fact the Liverpool man was clearly onside, play restarted with a Tottenham free-kick, with the goal incorrectly ruled out by VAR.

The issue seemingly stemmed from the VAR believing the linesman had judged Diaz to be onside and hence they gave the message “check complete” to signal that his decision was correct. However, the linesman had made the exact opposite decision and VAR’s failure to confirm the goal should stand ensured Diaz’s effort was ruled out.

The VAR officials realised their mistake when Spurs restarted the match with a free-kick from the offside position, rather than from a kick-off. A debacle ensued in the VAR room, which led to a viral clip of the officials realising their mistake before saying there was nothing they could do to change the situation as the game had already restarted.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) later released a statement that read: “PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred. PGMOL will conduct a full review. The goal by Luiz Diaz 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, the VAR failed to intervene.”

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool (30 September 2023): Curtis Jones red card

Liverpool’s defeat against Spurs in September had a number of controversial decisions and this was another one of those.

Curtis Jones’ challenge on Yves Bissouma was over-the-ball and was probably a red card, but the main issue of contention was that Simon Hooper’s initial view of the challenge on the VAR monitor was a screenshot of the point of contact.

Rather than first playing a full-speed shot of Jones’ tackle, his mind was essentially made up from the beginning due to the fact he was shown a screenshot of the England U21 international making contact with Bissouma using his studs.

This method has been widely-criticised over the past few years, with officials being persuaded to give a certain decision based on how VAR chooses to show replays.

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool (30 September 2023): Joe Gomez potential penalty

This incident was spoken about far less than the previous two instances, but Joe Gomez was taken out by Micky van de Ven inside the penalty area, but the incident was missed by the on-field referee and by VAR.

The Dutch international attempted to play the ball, wiped out Gomez and faced no consequences.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool (9 December 2023): Jarell Quansah penalty

This challenge was initially missed by referee Andy Madley, but VAR recommended an on-field review and Jarell Quansah was eventually penalised for his clumsy tackle on Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The eventual decision to award Crystal Palace a penalty was correct, however the controversial element came via the fact several minutes of action had passed before Madley finally stopped the game to check the monitor.

Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal (23 December 2023): Martin Odegaard handball

In arguably the biggest game of the season, Liverpool hosted Arsenal in a crucial match in the Premier League title race.

A 1-1 draw was probably a fair result given the chances both teams had, although Liverpool will feel they should’ve won the match after Trent Alexander-Arnold missed a huge second-half chance and Martin Odegaard wasn’t punished for an almost-certain penalty.

The Gunners midfielder handled the ball inside the Arsenal penalty area at Anfield, but he wasn’t penalised by the on-field referee or the VAR.

A deflected Alexander-Arnold free-kick fell to the feet of Mohamed Salah just outside the penalty area, and he poked the ball to the side of Odegaard, only for the Norwegian to block the ball using his arm.

The apparent reason for why Odegaard escaped serious punishment was because he slipped and was putting his hand towards the ground to catch his fall, despite the fact he seemed to swipe the ball away with his hand.

After the match, Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Theo Walcott were bemused why Odegaard wasn’t punished and Liverpool manager Klopp explained his frustration during his post-match interview.

“The penalty situation was a strange one,” he said. I don't know if the referee saw it, but you look at it and I'm not sure how you can say it's not a penalty.

“I would like somebody to explain to me how that is not handball, but I don't know how he can do it. I'm not saying the referee saw it because I have no idea where he was at that moment, that's a different question.

“But when somebody is sitting in front of the monitors, how can he not come to the conclusion that maybe a penalty should be given? Look at it.”

Burnley 0-2 Liverpool (26 December 2023): Cody Gakpo goal

Cody Gakpo saw his goal against Burnley ruled out after Darwin Nunez was adjudged to have fouled Charlie Taylor in the build-up.

The Uruguay international barely touched Taylor and the Burnley defender's reaction proved that it was his error, rather than a foul.

This goal shouldn't have been ruled out.

Burnley 0-2 Liverpool (26 December 2023): Harvey Elliott goal

Later in the same game, Liverpool were on the end of another controversial VAR call.

Harvey Elliott was denied a beautiful goal by the Video Assistant Referee as Mohamed Salah was standing in an offside position in front of Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford when the shot was taken.

After a one-two with Ryan Gravenberch, Elliott slotted the ball into the near post, with Trafford moving the other way and completely helpless in between the sticks.

However, the goal was ruled out as Salah was offside and was deemed to be impacting Trafford, despite the fact the Englishman had no chance of saving Elliott's effort in any case.

By the letter of the law, this was the right decision but it certainly felt harsh considering Salah didn't prevent Trafford from making a save and therefore wasn't particularly interfering.

Furthermore, Salah was pushed into an offside position by a Burnley defender, making the decision even harsher.

Liverpool 1-1 Man City (10 March 2024): Jeremy Doku penalty

In the dying embers of this crucial match in the title race, Jeremy Doku left a high foot on Alexis Mac Allister inside the penalty area, but Liverpool were not awarded a penalty.

The Man City winger was perceived to have played the ball first and despite making contact with the Argentina international, Doku escaped with no punishment.

Jurgen Klopp was visibly angered by the fact VAR did not intervene, berating Michael Oliver at full-time and expressing his frustration during his post-match interview.