Liverpool FC has officially lodged a complaint with the refereeing body (PGMOL) following the disallowance of a goal scored by defender Virgil van Dijk in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The incident occurred in the 38th minute when City led 1-0. Van Dijk headed a corner into the net, but the goal was ruled out after assistant referee Stuart Burt flagged for offside. The decision was confirmed by referee Chris Kavanagh, with support from VAR official Michael Oliver, who judged that left-back Andy Robertson, standing in an off-side position, made an “obvious action” and impeded City keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s line of vision.
Liverpool maintain the ruling was incorrect. The club’s position is that Robertson did not intervene or affect Donnarumma’s ability to play the ball, and thus the criteria laid out in Law 11 (offside law) should not have applied.
Head coach Arne Slot acknowledged the club’s dissatisfaction but stopped short of blaming the decision for the loss. He emphasised that the refereeing error did not excuse Liverpool’s poor overall display. Nonetheless, Slot pointed to a similar goal previously allowed, under the same match-official Chris Kavanagh, and described the decision as “obvious and clear” in error.
Analyst views highlight the controversy’s subjective nature. Former referee Chris Foy stated that while he would have preferred the goal to stand, it did not meet the threshold for a “clear and obvious error” under VAR protocol and hence the on-field call remained.
Liverpool now await a response from PGMOL and senior referee Howard Webb, who has been contacted by the club. The outcome may prompt further scrutiny of how interference with a goalkeeper’s play is interpreted under offside law.
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