Klopp questions whether VAR officials under too much pressure after Diaz goal error

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the pressure being put on officials after the Professional Game Match Officials Limited vowed to investigate the decision to rule out a Luis Diaz goal in Saturday's dramatic 2-1 loss away to Tottenham.

Liverpool forward Diaz produced a fine finish to Mohamed Salah's 34th-minute pass but the linesman immediately raised his flag to signal offside.

A VAR check by Darren England in Stockley Park occurred, with screens inside the stadium informing supporters, but play was able to quickly resume with the video officials deciding no course correction was required.

PGMOL, the referees’ body, issued a statement after the match acknowledging a “significant human error” occurred and that VAR “failed to intervene” to reverse the decision.

According to multiple reports, the VAR drew the lines to check for offside and followed the process correctly. But, in what sources described as a momentary lapse of concentration, England lost focus of the initial on-field decision, meaning his confirmation resulted in a ‘check complete’ instead of intervening and awarding Diaz’s effort as intended.

Liverpool went on to finish the match with nine men and suffered stoppage-time heartbreak when Joel Matip deflected Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but the post-match discussions focused on the crucial first-half error.

“Who does that help now [the PGMOL statement]? We had that situation in the Wolves-Man United game. Did Wolves get the points? No,” Klopp said in his post-match press conference.

“We will not get points for it so it doesn’t help. Nobody expects 100 per cent right decisions on field but we all thought when VAR comes in that it might make things easier.

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