Furious Sky Sports Paul Merson told to ‘calm down’ live on air after ‘blowing up’ over Liverpool VAR discussion
Liverpool forward Luis Diaz had his goal disallowed in last weekend’s Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur.
Paul Merson and Mike Dean were involved in a heated debate on live TV this afternoon over Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal in Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Although it has been a week since the incident, the debate about VAR and how costly mistakes are still being made will not go away.
Liverpool quickly released a statement after the 2-1 defeat in the capital, demanding an explanation as to why Diaz’s goal could be ruled out, and other Premier League managers have since expressed their dismay at the situation as they contested the issue.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean told Sky Sports News: “It’s an ongoing process. They’ve always been emailed things they have to go through, certain clips they have to go through. Hit the offside button or the inside button. They always do online training. They did some things again this week to improve communication.
“Forward? I don’t know. Are you bringing in former players? Not for me. When you go and bring in players, half of them don’t know the laws of the game, as you can see from what [Merson] just said about restarting the game after that.”
Dean’s response prompted a furious reaction from ex-Arsenal midfielder Merson, who was even asked to calm down in the Sky studios, replying: “For this? What do you mean? You’re playing Liverpool against Tottenham, one of the biggest games and you say. ‘because’. No law, no one will die so leave the game! You’re scared and “I’ll be in” trouble”. Finish the game and then reflect on the circumstances. Seriously! Typical, didn’t play the game.”
Dean then countered, “It’s the law, buddy. It’s the law. You can’t change the law. Simple. I stay nice and calm because I know you can’t change the law, but if he wants to explode like a bottle of pop, that’s fine with me.
IFAB’s (International Football Association Board) VAR regime cannot be reinstated in cases such as Diaz’s goal after the referee has signaled play to restart. Law 10 states: “When a game is stopped and restarted, the referee must not carry out a ‘check’ if there is no case of mistaken identity or violent behavior, spitting, biting or very offensive, offensive and/or possible offside with violation. Offensive actions. “
