Gary Neville believes Liverpool made a big “mistake” after releasing a statement in response to PGMOL’s admission of failure in the Tottenham defeat.
The Reds hit back at Darren England’s horrendous mistake when he insisted Luis Diaz’s goal should have been ruled out when it actually should have been. A string of errors meant England thought referee Simon Hooper had scored and didn’t realize his error until Spurs restarted play with a free-kick.
Liverpool lost when Joel Matip scored a last minute own goal to give Spurs the win. While Reds boss Jurgen Klopp remained calm after admitting PGMOL’s error, the furious club hit back, claiming they were “exploring their options”. “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges that PGMOL accepted its failure last night. It is clear that the Laws of the Game were not properly applied, resulting in a breach of sporting integrity,” the club said in a statement.
“We fully accept the pressure under which the match referees operate, but the existence and implementation of VAR is intended to alleviate that pressure, not exacerbate it. Therefore, it is not satisfied that there was not enough time to make the right decision. Intervention later.
“It is also unacceptable that such errors are already classified as ‘significant human error’.” All results should be determined based on review only and in full transparency.
“This is vital to the credibility of any future decision as it applies to all clubs whose expertise will be used to improve processes to ensure this does not happen again.
“In the meantime, we are exploring the available options because we have a clear need to move forward and resolve.”
But Neville believes Liverpool made a mistake by coming out so strongly. Instead, he insisted the Reds should have accepted PGMOL’s apology and tried to move on, warning that talk of questioning sporting integrity was dangerous.
“Jurgen Klopp handled it well last night after the game. Most football fans sympathized with what happened and realized it was wrong! However, Liverpool’s statement tonight is a mistake!” Neville tweeted.
“Talk about exploring all options (whatever that means!!!) and fair play are dangerous phrases along with vagueness and aggressiveness. Sorry that was enough! I said that last night. Sorry, it needs to be respected. not underestimated. It’s a knee-jerk reaction that can always be wrong, but I feel strongly about it.”
Neville was then criticized for his attitude on social media and immediately hit out at one critic in particular. He was told, “How is an apology enough? There must be consequences.” Neville didn’t enjoy it and said “What would you like mate? It’s bullshit. We’ve all done it.”
England assistant VAR Dan Cook has been sacked by PGMOL for both Sunday and Monday’s Premier League games. The jury is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting Monday morning as they continue to have questions.
