Liverpool FC release statement after “sporting integrity undermined” at Tottenham

Liverpool have released a statement in response to the events that transpired in the defeat at Tottenham, which saw Luis Diaz‘s goal fail to be correctly awarded by VAR intervention.

The fallout from the calamitous failure of VAR to intervene and award Liverpool a goal on Saturday continues to rumble on after the PGMOL admitted to a “significant human error.”

It is the latest in a long line of incidents that continue to question the competency of officiating in the Premier League, and Liverpool have now released a statement of their own in response.

It reads:

“Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.

“We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR.

“It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.

“That such failings have already been categorised as “significant human error” is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.

“This is vital for the reliability of future decision making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again.

“In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”

The final line in the statement, plus the highlighting of “sporting integrity being undermined” is damning and signals that there needs to be a clear path forward.

Liverpool have twice lost a title by one point in recent years and it is not acceptable that these events can play a significant role in the outcome of a season when the margins are so small.

With players and managers not able to freely speak, Liverpool’s statement speaks volumes on the current state of play and the need for protocols to be heavily scrutinised.