Image Credits: Imago Images
When Liverpool lost to Manchester City 3-0 at the Etihad this past Sunday, much of the discourse post-match was not neessarily about the result but Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed goal.
The skipper’s header, which would have levelled the score at 1-1, was ruled out for offside as Andrew Robertson was deemed to have been obstructing the view of City ‘keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma
The decision sparked immediate fury from Arne Slot’s camp, and rightfully so – what unfolded has now become yet another VAR scandal.
The Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel is an independent body set up by the Premier League to review contentious match decisions after the fact.
Comprising three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative, and one official from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the panel carries significant weight.
While their rulings don’t overturn results, they provide authoritative analysis on whether officials got it right or wrong.
And now Martin Hardy of the Times has reported that the expert panel has gone against the decision to disallow the equalizer:
“The Times understands that the KMI panel found that the onfield call of offside was incorrect,” Hardy reported.
What’s particularly intriguing is that while the panel backed Liverpool’s complaint about the offside decision, they maintained that Video Assistant Referee Michael Oliver made the correct call by not intervening.
VAR can only overturn subjective decisions if a “clear and obvious error” is identified, and objective offside calls remain in the referee’s domain:
“The panel also found that it was correct for there to have been no intervention from the video assistant referee,” the Times journalist revealed.
“VAR can be used to overturn a subjective decision if a ‘clear and obvious error’ has been identified.”
“However it cannot be used to overturn an objective offside call, which on this occasion was that Robertson was in an offside position and he had made an action.”
Want to get the latest Liverpool news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.