The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have acknowledged a ‘significant human error’ cost Liverpool what would’ve been the opening goal of what became a 9-man 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Luis Diaz beat the Spurs back line and raced into the box to cut a shot beyond the reach of Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised and the play was deemed offside.
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Replays with drawn lines were not available to the broadcast team and the play appeared onside to the naked eye, but the goal remained offside after what was assumed to be a review by Video Assistant Referee.
“PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham v Liverpool.
“The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials. This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.
“PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.
“PGMOL will immediately be contacting Liverpool at the conclusion of the fixture to acknowledge the error.”
"PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 30, 2023
The PGMOL statement on the Luis Diaz disallowed goal. 👇 pic.twitter.com/qC2C0jMsXD
