Andy Robertson was adjudged to be blocking Gianluigi Donnarumma's line of sight from an offside position when Virgil van Dijk netted an equaliser against Manchester City
Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd on Sky Sports' Ref Watch show
Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd on Sky Sports' Ref Watch show(Image: @SkySportsPL on X, formerly known as Twitter)
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Dermot Gallagher has revealed whether he thinks Liverpool's equaliser against Manchester City should have been ruled out. Andy Robertson was deemed to have blocked Gianluigi Donnarumma's line of sight from an offside position when Virgil van Dijk pulled one back at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.
The Scot, who stood a couple of yards in front of the goalkeeper, ducked as his captain's header sailed into the top corner. The linesman flagged for an offside, and the decision was quickly checked by Michael Oliver, the Video Assistant Referee.
He and his assistant, Timothy Wood, confirmed the on-field decision, and Van Dijk's goal was chalked off. An official comment from the Premier League Match Centre on X claimed Robertson made an 'obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper'.
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Speaking on Sky Sports' Ref Watch show, Gallagher claimed the decision is 'open to interpretation'. The former Premier League referee said: "It is subjective without doubt, and it is a grey area because it's all about the interpretation.
"Everybody sees things slightly different, and that's why you can throw up an incident from last year or earlier this season and say, 'Well, they made a different decision'. I don't think there are hard and fast rules."
Gallagher added: "I'm not trying to defend Chris Kavanagh, but we shouldn't hang him out to dry because he didn't make the decision yesterday; that was made by the assistant. This was an on-field decision, which was no goal.
Virgil van Dijk reacts after his goal against Man City is ruled out
Virgil van Dijk reacts after his goal against Man City is ruled out(Image: (Carl Recine/Getty Images))
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"So VAR looks and says, 'is Robertson in an offside position? - yes. Is he impacting on the goalkeeper?' - they obviously felt yes, because he was close. That's why people are going, 'it should be this or this' and open to interpretation."
Unlike Gallagher, Jay Bothroyd wasn't afraid to reach a conclusion, and he insisted that the goal should have stood. The former Premier League striker said: "This should have been given as a goal.
"When you look at Donnarumma, he is coming across slightly to his right but then he pivots to the left, so that means he can see where the ball is going. Robertson has ducked but, if anything, the person who would be in his eye-line more is [Jeremy] Doku.
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"'A player making an action' is in the rule. A player making an action, in my opinion, is if he moves towards the ball or he tries to make contact with the ball. Robertson has ducked.
"He's made no effort to try to deflect the ball or get his head on it. He's just got himself out the way of the ball. That's why I think it should have been given and was a poor decision."