Liverpool’s recent VAR controversy has left former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane both bemused and amused.
After Liverpool’s first Premier League defeat of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, Keane jokingly suggested that the two teams should replay the match due to the VAR error.
The match saw Liverpool suffer a 2-1 loss, with Joël Matip’s stoppage-time own-goal sealing its fate. The Reds were also reduced to nine men, with Curtis Jones receiving a controversial straight red card and Diogo Jota being sent off for a second bookable offense, which was later deemed incorrect by an independent Premier League panel.
One of the key incidents of the match was Luis Díaz’s disallowed goal, which was later revealed to be a “significant human error” by VAR officials.
Keane expressed surprise at the casual nature of the audio released from Liverpool regarding the incident, but also expressed his weariness with the ongoing discussions surrounding VAR.
It was so crazy wasn’t it?” Keane told the Stick to Football Podcast. “A mistake by the officials, oh god what do you want me to say? Are you tired of talking about it? It’s tiring to talk about.
“Just replay the game…that’d be easy! How casual (the audio from Liverpool) was what surprised me. It’s quite casual, that’s what worried me.”
The controversy surrounding VAR has led to criticism of Howard Webb, chief of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). Webb acknowledged the mistake and stated that measures have been taken to prevent similar errors in the future. He emphasized that VAR exists to rectify wrong decisions made on the field and expressed disappointment that it did not intervene in this particular case.
