"You want to get what you deserve" - Mikel Arteta weighs in on controversial VAR error in Liverpool's loss to Tottenham
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta recently weighed in on Liverpool's contentious loss at Tottenham Hotspur on September 30, marked by a VAR blunder.
Luis Diaz scored the first goal of the game in the 34th minute, but it was disallowed for offside, even though replays have shown the Colombian was clearly onside. The goal was canceled due to a foggy lapse in communication between on-field referees and the VAR team.
Had Diaz's goal been correctly acknowledged, Liverpool, who were down to 10 men would've taken a 1-0 lead, potentially altering the entire narrative of the match.
Arteta addressed the controversy while facing the media ahead of Arsenal's crucial UEFA Champions League encounter on October 3 (via Liverpool Echo):
"For sure, you know at the end you want to get what you deserve. You want to minimise errors that you cannot control away from the work and the job that you do on a daily basis."
He added:
"Everybody is trying to have a really clean and honest game but at the end you have to earn the right to win it and play in the conditions that the rules allow. When that doesn't happen it's extremely frustrating."
Liverpool have received the recorded referee's match audio from PGMOL to clarify the sequence of events that led to the error. The recording has also been released to the public.
PGMOL releases VAR audio, exposing miscommunication in Luis Diaz's disallowed goal for Liverpool
PGMOL has made public the VAR audio from the disputed Luis Diaz goal, illuminating the misunderstandings that prevented a rightful goal for Liverpool. The audio reveals a cascade of missteps among officials, chiefly involving Darren England, the VAR on duty, and on-field referee Simon Hooper.
England, erroneously thinking the goal had been awarded on the field, gave the all-clear for play to resume. Once apprised of the blunder by the replay operator, named "Oli", England and assistant VAR Dan Cook lamented that the game had restarted. Hence, as per the laws, they couldn't do anything about it.
The recorded conversation exposes a particularly frantic exchange with the replay operator, who repeatedly urges for the game to be halted.
"Can't do anything," was England's recurrent response echoed multiple times before Cook chimed in with a resigned, "They've restarted."
Significantly absent in the audio is the voice of the fourth official, Michael Oliver. Furthermore, Sky Sports reports that Hooper, the man overseeing the on-pitch action, was made aware of the egregious mistake only during the half-time interval.