"Have to accept because without VAR there were more" - PL boss insists Tottenham v Liverpool shouldn't be replayed despite Jurgen Klopp's recent claim
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Tottenham Hotspur's victory over Liverpool and the Premier League's VAR blunder. Despite the uproar against the VAR call, Emery firmly believes that the game should not be replayed, going against Jurgen Klopp's recent claim of a rematch.
Jurgen Klopp, understandably frustrated by the outcome, called for a game replay. However, Emery offered a different perspective when speaking ahead of Villa's Europa Conference League clash.
Emery said (via The Mirror):
"Before when we didn’t have VAR, there were a lot of mistakes – more than now. Now I can accept some mistakes in VAR. They are only a few… small mistakes. Of course for Liverpool it was a big mistake in the last match against Tottenham but we have to accept because before, without VAR, there were more and more and more.''
The VAR blunder in question saw Luis Diaz's goal incorrectly ruled out for offside in a game which Spurs ultimately won 2-1. Replays clearly showed that Diaz was onside, but the VAR official, Darren England, mistakenly thought the on-field decision had been to award the goal.
After the controversy, audio recordings between match officials revealed that the replay operator had spotted the mistake and urged the officiating team to halt the game. However, the VAR and assistant VAR claimed they couldn't intervene as play had already restarted.
Livrepool's loss against Tottenham Hotspur was their first of the season in seven Premier League games. The Reds dropped to fourth position in the Premier League table after the loss while Tottenham remains rock solid in the second spot, with five wins and two draws in seven EPL games.
Tottenham Hotspur's response to VAR debacle against Liverpool questioned as not in the 'Spirit of the Sport'
Tottenham Hotspur's response, or rather the non-response, to the controversial VAR decision during their clash with Liverpool has drawn criticism, with former England defender Nedum Onuoha suggesting it goes against the 'spirit of the sport.'
He said (via ESPN):
“I think to be in a position to say ‘well, that’s fine then’ I think that misses the point in terms of the spirit of the sport itself. I get it, it would be fair [to give the goal], but I think that’s from our neutral perspective, as oppose to the perspective of the side that knows they’ve gotten away with something.”
While Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp have been vocal about the incident, Spurs have remained relatively silent. Onuoha also highlighted that stopping the game to correct such errors should be considered from a sportsmanship perspective rather than just accepting the advantage.