"There is no law, no one is going to die so stop the game!" -Paul Merson clashes with Mike Dean over Liverpool VAR controversy
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson and former Premier League referee Mike Dean got involved in a heated argument over Liverpool winger Luis Diaz' disallowed goal against Tottenham Hotspur.
Nine-man Liverpool suffered a 2-1 defeat against Spurs last week in the Premier League but the game was shrouded in controversy due to a critical VAR error.
Luis Diaz scored a brilliant goal when the scores were still 0-0 in the first half. The linesman flagged him for being offside but replays showed he was comfortably onside. Despite this, the officials utilizing the VAR failed to reverse the onfield decision.
The PGMOL issued a public apology to Liverpool following the error. However, the conversation on VAR is not going anywhere.
During a Sky Sports segment, Mike Dean was asked on how VAR can be improve, to which he replied (via ECHO):
"It's an ongoing process. They always have stuff emailed to go through, certain clips where they have to press a button of offside or onside. They are always doing online training. They have been in again this week doing certain things to try and get the communication better."
He added:
"The way forward? I don't know. Do you get ex-players in? For me, no. If you go and get players in, half of them don't know the laws of the game as you can tell by what you've [Merson] just said about restarting the game for the sake of it."
His answer infuriated Merson, who replied:
"For the sake of it? What do you mean the sake of it? You are playing Liverpool against Tottenham, one of the biggest games and you're saying 'for the sake of it'. There is no law, no one is going to die so stop the game! You're all scared and 'I'm going to get in trouble'. Stop the game and then take the circumstances. Seriously! Typical, not played the game."
To which Dean hit back:
"It's the law, mate. That is the law. You can't change the law. Simple as. I am staying nice and calm because I know you cannot change the law, but if he wants to blow up like a bottle of pop that is fine by me."
Football fans will be hoping costly errors drastically reduce after last weekend's incident.
Brighton dealt six injury blows ahead of Liverpool clash
According to the ECHO, Roberto de Zerbi's Brighton & Hove Albion could be without six stars ahead of their Premier League clash against Liverpool at the Amex later today (October 8).
Brighton have made a strong start to the season and are currently sixth with 15 points after seven games. They face a resurgent Liverpool side that are fourth in the standings with 16 points.
Julio Enciso is sidelined for the foreseeable future having picked up a serious knee injury in August. Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan has also picked up a minor knock and is expected to return after the international break.
Former Reds midfielder James Milner and Adam Lallana have also picked up muscular injuries, while Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk could miss out due to illness. Finally, Jakub Moder is also a long-term absentee due to injury.