Liverpool has contacted the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to dispute the disallowance of Virgil van Dijk's goal during their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. The club argues that Andrew Robertson did not interfere with play as ruled by VAR. Wayne Rooney has expressed sympathy, stating the goal should have stood.
Liverpool suffered a 3-0 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, but the match's most contentious moment came in the 38th minute when Virgil van Dijk's close-range header from a Mohamed Salah corner was ruled out. With City leading 1-0, referee Chris Kavanagh disallowed the goal, a decision upheld by VAR official Michael Oliver after reviewing footage.
VAR determined that Andrew Robertson, in an offside position, interfered by ducking directly in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, making an 'obvious action' that impacted the keeper's ability to play the ball. This interpretation aligns with Law 11 of the game's offside rules, which penalizes an offside player for clearly obstructing an opponent's line of vision or ability to play the ball.
Liverpool disputes this, maintaining that Robertson's movement did not obstruct Donnarumma's line of sight or prevent a save attempt. After reviewing multiple camera angles, the club believes the Italian goalkeeper's view was never significantly impeded and that the evidence for interference was inconclusive. Frustrated with the VAR process, Liverpool formally contacted PGMOL head Howard Webb for a review, emphasizing accountability for future similar decisions while accepting the match result.
On BBC's Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney sided with Liverpool, saying, 'Yeah, I don’t think it has affected it at all when you look at it. Robertson is in an offside position, but Van Dijk makes good movement, it’s a really good header, and Donnarumma can see the ball the whole way. Robertson is to the side of him. Donnarumma is fully outstretched, there’s no impact from Robertson for me.' Rooney added that Donnarumma was already diving as Van Dijk headed the ball, and the goal should have stood.
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy acknowledged the debate but noted the decision was unlikely to alter the outcome, citing Liverpool's subpar performance: 'Unfortunately, the level of Liverpool’s performance probably meant it wouldn’t have affected the outcome. Not from a points tally but from a performance level, yes – they don’t look like they’re playing well enough to make up the gap. Away from home they’re too easy to play against, too open, and making too many mistakes.'