Liverpool’s Van Dijk Goal Disallowed Against Man City Sparks VAR Controversy

Liverpool have formally contacted the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to express serious concerns over the disallowed goal scored by Virgil van Dijk in their 3-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester City. The goal, which would have leveled the score at 1-1 in the 38th minute, was ruled out because of an offside decision against Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, who was judged to be impeding Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s line of sight.

The decision was made on the pitch by referee Chris Kavanagh after an assistant referee flagged Robertson offside. A Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, led by Michael Oliver, upheld the call without asking the on-field referee to review the incident on a pitchside monitor. Liverpool dispute the ruling, arguing that Robertson did not interfere with Donnarumma and that the criteria for offside interference under Law 11 were not met. The club has examined footage from multiple angles and maintains that Robertson’s action of ducking under the ball should not have led to the goal being disallowed.

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot described the decision as “obvious and clear” wrong and believes the ruling impacted the game’s momentum at a time when Liverpool were struggling. Although the club accepts the final 3-0 result, they contacted Howard Webb, head of PGMOL, seeking further clarification and examination of the VAR process and the refereeing standards applied in this critical moment.

The club’s complaint emphasizes the need for consistency and transparency in applying offside rules, pointing out that similar decisions in past matches have been handled differently. Liverpool’s action spotlights ongoing debates about VAR’s use, subjective interpretation of offside law, and how interference with the goalkeeper’s line of sight should be judged in high-stakes fixtures. The PGMOL has yet to respond to Liverpool’s approach.

This incident has reignited scrutiny on refereeing standards and the VAR system’s decision-making in Premier League matches, with Liverpool pushing for a review of how such game-changing calls are managed in the future.

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