Liverpool demand answers from referee chiefs after Van Dijk’s disallowed goal sparks controversy in Man City defeat…

Liverpool seeks clarification from referee officials following the controversy surrounding Van Dijk’s disallowed goal in their defeat to Manchester City.

The club has officially reached out to Howard Webb, the head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), to voice their “serious concerns” regarding the decision to annul Virgil van Dijk’s equalizer during their 3–0 loss to Manchester City over the weekend. They assert that the ruling was made based on “subjective interpretation” rather than adhering strictly to the law.

Van Dijk’s header from a corner was disallowed after it was determined that Andy Robertson was in an offside position. However, Liverpool contends that none of the conditions specified in the offside law were satisfied and that the goal should have been allowed.

While PGMOL maintained that Robertson had clearly interfered with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s line of sight, senior officials at Liverpool reportedly examined all available camera angles and found no evidence to substantiate that assertion. They believe Robertson did not obstruct the Italian keeper in any significant manner.

Compounding their frustration, VAR official Michael Oliver did not suggest that on-field referee Chris Kavanagh review the incident on the pitchside monitor — a procedure Liverpool considers “fundamental to the integrity” of the VAR system.

After the match, manager Arne Slot expressed his disagreement with the ruling but refrained from attributing the loss to it. “In my opinion, it was the incorrect decision, but I won’t claim that’s the reason we lost,” he stated. “Even if it had been 1–1, City were still the superior team.”

Slot also highlighted that Kavanagh had permitted a similar goal to count last season when John Stones scored for City against Wolves, despite Bernardo Silva being in an offside position.

Captain Virgil van Dijk shared his manager’s frustration: “I believed it should have been a goal.

They claimed Robertson interfered with the keeper, but someone showed me City’s goal from last year — same referee, same type of situation. Regardless, it’s over. We lost 3–0, no excuses. We must move on.