Ben Foster launches VAR accusation at Sky Sports after Liverpool controversy

03 October 2023 , 11:04

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Ben Foster has accused Sky of being "under direct orders" in relation to their coverage of the VAR controversy during Liverpool's Premier League defeat against Tottenham.

Liverpool thought they had taken the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Luis Diaz ran through on goal and beat Guglielmo Vicario, only for the forward to be called offside. Following a VAR check, the on-field decision was upheld, only for referees' body PGMOL to later admit a "significant error" had been made and the goal should have stood.

Jurgen Klopp's team ended up losing the game 2-1, thanks to a last-minute own goal from defender Joel Matip, and issued a statement after the game pledging to "explore the range of options available" after more than one contentious call. VAR official Darren England and assistant Dan Cook, the two men at the centre of the controversy, have not been given an appointment for the upcoming round of Premier League fixtures.

"The bit that I found really disappointing is that they showed one very quick replay and the game was moved on," Foster said on his YouTube channel. "Every image we saw it looked onside but they didn't show another replay for the rest of the half. They didn't mention it once at half-time until 10 seconds before the start of the second half.

"That tells me that Sky are in bed with the people at VAR, PGMOL or whatever it is. They must have got straight on the phone and said: 'do not highlight the fact we copped up here, do not show it, do not talk about it, do not bad mouth us'. I guarantee that is what happened. That is why Sky were under direct orders to not say a single word about it."

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While there were limited half-time discussions on the incident, Sky Sports did immediately read out the statement from PGMOL at full time, which admitted the error. There were then further in-depth discussions from studio pundits including commentator Gary Neville.

While Sky do seek clarity from VAR on incidents, it is understood on-air programmes and discussions are in no way influenced by PGMOL.

How can the Premier League avoid a repeat of Saturday's controversy? Have your say in the comments section

Luis Diaz's goal was wrongly disallowed (Getty Images)

"Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night," Liverpool's statement, published on Sunday, read. "It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.

"We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR. It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.

"That such failings have already been categorised as “significant human error” is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.

"This is vital for the reliability of future decision-making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again. In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution."

While VAR officials England and Cook aren't involved in the upcoming round of Premier League games, Simon Hooper - the on-field ref for Tottenham v Liverpool - has not been taken off duty. Hooper will serve as the VAR for the meeting between Everton and Bournemouth at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Liverpool's next league game takes place the following day, with the Reds up against Brighton. Anthony Taylor will be the man in the middle on the south coast, with Chris Kavanagh on VAR duty.

Cody Gakpo will be missing for Liverpool after suffering an injury against Tottenham, while Diogo Jota is suspended following his red card in North London. Curtis Jones is also due to sit out the game as things stand, but Liverpool have appealed the red card he was shown over the weekend.