"Rigged game" - Diogo Jota's wife brands match officials as clowns after 2 red cards and disallowed goal in Tottenham vs Liverpool clash
Liverpool star Diogo Jota's wife Rute Cardoso has given a damning verdict of Premier League officials following the Reds' controversial defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Jurgen Klopp's Merseysiders suffered a 2-1 loss away at Spurs on Saturday (September 30). However, it was a game full of controversy that led to a backlash from fans and the media.
Liverpool incorrectly had Luis Diaz's goal ruled out by VAR for offside and they ended the game with nine men after Curtis Jones and Jota were both contentiously sent off.
Jota was given his first booking when he was deemed to have tripped Destiny Udogie. However, replays showed that the Portuguese attacker hadn't made contact with the Spurs defender who fell. His second booking and subsequent red card came as he aimed a swipe at the Italian.
Cardoso uploaded two posts to her Instagram story in reaction to the dubious officiating of Liverpool's loss to Tottenham. She first posted a snapshot of Udogie falling without contact with Jota, adding a 'clown' emoticon to it.
Cardoso's second post took aim at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL)'s admission that a human error ruled out Diaz's goal. She crossed out the caption:
"Rigged game."
The club have released a statement in response to the PGMOL's own admission regarding Diaz's goal being incorrectly ruled out:
"Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined."
The loss was Liverpool's first of the season and has stunted a strong showing from Klopp's men thus far. They sit fourth in the league, with five wins, one draw, and one defeat in seven games.
Liverpool Jurgen Klopp questions why VAR officials are getting such glaring decisions wrong
Klopp has given his take on the controversy that ensued at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the weekend. The German coach wasn't too fond of the PGMOL admitting a human error was made. He alluded to Wolverhampton Wanderers missing out on a clear penalty in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United (via the club's official website):
"Who does that help now? We had that situation in the Man United game, did Wolves get points for it? We will not get points for it so it doesn't help. Nobody expects 100 percent right decisions on-field but I think we all thought when VAR came in it might make things easier. I don't know why, the people in the VAR are they that much under pressure?"
The Premier League have started releasing audio of such decisions being made in the VAR Hub in Stockley Park. Such dubious reviews such as United goalkeeper Andre Onana clattering into Wolves' Sasa Kalajdzic have given a worrying insight into the problems that officials are having.