Referees governing body announces changes to VAR protocols after fallout from Diaz’s disallowed goal

MANCHESTER, England: The governing body for England’s referees will introduce changes to VAR following the errors that led to Luiz Diaz’s disallowed goal for Liverpool against Tottenham last weekend.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has completed a review of the incident in Liverpool’s 2-1 loss at Spurs on Saturday.

It had already admitted its mistake after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Darren England failed to award Diaz’s goal, despite replays clearly showing the forward was onside. On Tuesday, it revealed new protocols that will be put in place to avoid a repeat in the future.

“We recognize standards fell short of expectations and acknowledged the error to Liverpool immediately after the conclusion of the fixture,” the PGMOL said. It added that it had made “key learnings to mitigate against the risk of a future error.”

PGMOL said a new VAR Communication Protocol would be developed to improve communication between the referee and the VAR team.

The VAR will also have to confirm the outcome of its check with the assistant VAR before informing on-field officials of the final decision.

The PGMOL also said it would reiterate that the speed of decision-making must not be at the expense of accuracy.

Liverpool had raised questions about “sporting integrity” after the loss. A win would have seen Jurgen Klopp’s team move to the top of the Premier League.

The club issued a statement on Sunday saying it would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”

“It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined,” Liverpool said. “We fully accept the pressures that match officials