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      Arsenal fans say ‘leave the pitch, the game is rigged’ as Kovacic survives VAR check after two shocking fouls

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      ARSENAL fans were left irate at referee Michael Oliver’s decision not to send off Mateo Kovacic.The Manchester City midfielder received a booking in the 29th minute for a reckless tackle on Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard, whose right Achilles felt the full force of his dangerous challenge.

      Mateo Kovacic crunched Martin Odegaard with a nasty challenge in the 29th minuteCredit: SKY SPORTS
      Kovacic raked down the back of Odegaard’s Achilles with his challengeCredit: SKY SPORTS
      VAR agreed with Michael Oliver’s decision to give the midfielder a bookingCredit: REUTERS
      Kovacic made another dangerous challenge less than five minutes laterCredit: GETTY
      Fans demanded a red card but the video assistant referee didn’t oblige with their calls for the Croatia international to have an early bath.
      And they were left seething five minutes later when the former Chelsea man took out Declan Rice with another poorly-timed challenge.
      Oliver didn’t deem the tackle worthy of a second booking, prompting a slew of angry Gooners to take to X (formerly Twitter) to vent their fury.
      One wrote: “Kovacic is still on the ground somehow.”
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      Another said: “Nah, they want us to lose so much. What is this cheating?”
      And another said: “Leave the pitch, the game is rigged
      One remarked: “Someone please tell me how that Kovacic was a yellow and not a straight red like Curtis Jones’ last week????
      “This ref’s are corrupt.”
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      Referee Michael Oliver opted NOT to give Mateo Kovacic a second bookingCredit: GETTY
      The Emirates faithful’s fury was echoed by Arsenal super-fan and Sun columnist Piers Morgan.
      He asked: “How the hell is Kovacic still on the pitch?
      “Two horrendous fouls in 5 minutes. Abysmal refereeing.”
      Kovacic’s back-to-back fouls were the hot topic in the Sky Sports studio, where former City defender Micah Richards admitted the Croat should have seen red.
      He said: “I believe Kovačić should have seen red. The Rice challenge is definitely a second yellow.”
      Former Gunners hitman Theo Walcott said: “As soon as it went to VAR, I thought red card.
      “It’s a nasty challenge. For me, it’s a red. It’s genuinely endangering the player.”
      Arsenal ended up winning the game thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s late goal, their first win over City in the Premier League for eight years. More

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      Brighton fans troll Liverpool with cheeky four-word chant following VAR shambles

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      BRIGHTON fans trolled Liverpool with a cheeky four-word chant during their clash on Sunday.The Seagulls supporters took the opportunity to poke fun at Liverpool’s VAR woes last weekend.
      Brighton fans trolled Liverpool’s VAR woes with a cheeky four-word chantCredit: Reuters
      Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly ruled out by the officials against Tottenham before a VAR mishap meant the decision was not corrected.
      Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has since suggested the match should be replayed after audio from the VAR review was released.
      Brighton’s fans used this against their opponents as the two sides met in the Premier League.
      During the first half, the home supporters could be heard chanting: “We want a replay,” after the visitors pulled level.
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      The chant was on show after Mohamed Salah cancelled out Simon Adingra’s opener to equalise for Liverpool.
      Brighton may well have wanted a replay minutes later, though, as Salah completed the turnaround after Liverpool were awarded a penalty.
      The hosts were able tie the game up again in the second half, however, thanks to Lewis Dunk’s 78th minute goal.
      Liverpool’s VAR shambles against Spurs had prompted a rule change from the Premier League for this weekend.
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      VAR bosses now have to confirm their decisions with their VAR assistants in a bid to avoid a repeat of the fiasco in North London.
      However, the rule change comes to late for the Reds, who fell to a 2-1 defeat last weekend following the VAR mistake. More

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      Watch Paul Merson completely lose it with Mike Dean in ‘box office’ clash on Soccer Saturday over Liverpool VAR shambles

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      FORMER Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson clashed with referee Mike Dean in a heated VAR debate ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League clash with Luton.A number of officials came under fire last week after VAR wrongfully ruled out Liverpool’s opening goal against Spurs.
      Paul Merson and Mike Dean clashed in a heated debate on Soccer SaturdayCredit: Sky Sports
      Dean claimed that ex-players don’t know the rules of the gameCredit: Sky Sports
      Merson accused the officials of being ‘scared’Credit: Sky Sports
      After Luis Diaz was flagged offside, those reviewing the decision failed to correct it.
      The PGMOL subsequently admitted that a “significant human error” affected the process, leaving fans furious.
      A panel of pundits continued to discuss the issues surrounding VAR on Sky’s Soccer Saturday this afternoon, with Dean giving an insight into what goes on behind the scenes.
      He said: “I think the way forward is to train them better with the process. It’s an ongoing process. They’re always doing online training.
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      “Do you get ex-players in? For me, no because half of them don’t even know the rules of the game.
      “As you can tell by what you’ve just said about restarting games for the sake of it…”
      A furious Merson then jumped in and yelled: “For the sake of it! For the sake of it!
      “What do you mean for the sake of it! You’ve got Liverpool against Tottenham, one of the biggest games and you are saying for the sake of it!
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      “Come on, there is no law. No one is going to die. So stop the game! You’re all scared!
      “You are all like ‘oh my god I am going to get in trouble!’
      “Stop the game! Stop the game and then take the circumstances. Because you know the rules, that is different.”
      Soccer Saturday presenter Simon Thomas then intervened and implored Merson to “calm down”.
      Fans took to social media to react to the “box office” debate, with one person tweeting: “This was brilliant! Completely agree with Merse and Mike Dean was disrespectful here about ex-players knowing the rules.”
      Another added: “Merse has just battered Mike Dean.”
      A third wrote: “Paul Merson v Mike Dean. Box Office!!!”
      While a fourth commented: “Paul Merson rinsing Mike Dean on a Saturday afternoon… Things you love to see.”
      Sky Sports are now set to be given more access to VAR as officials look to improve transparency following the controversy. More

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      Sky Sports set to make major change to TV schedule following recent VAR controversies

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      SKY SPORTS are set to make a major change to their “Mic’d up” referee show following the recent VAR controversy between Liverpool and Tottenham.The show has been running since the beginning of this season, and sees host Michael Owen talk through the week’s refereeing controversies with PGMOL chief Howard Webb.
      We will be seeing more ‘Ref’s Mic’d Up’ on our screens after the Spurs vs Liverpool VAR controversyCredit: Sky Sports
      The programme sees Webb explain that week’s decisions with the aid of audio between the referee and the VAR room.
      But going forward, it seems the show will be given much more access to VAR recordings and the programme will be shown more frequently.
      That comes after the huge error not to award a goal to Luis Diaz during Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham last week.
      Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed on the pitch for offside and VAR should have given the goal.
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      However miscommunication between Darren England’s VAR team and the referee saw the goal ruled out after the VAR team wrongly assumed that the goal had been given on-field.
      Play was therefore restarted and according to VAR protocol, the game cannot be taken back in time once a game has resumed.
      Henry Winter of The Times reports the show will now be shown more regularly and be granted greater access to decision making in order to regain trust in the VAR process.
      Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was enraged by the decision to rule Diaz’s goal out and suggested that the game should be replayed in light of it, saying: “It’s important we really deal with it in a proper way. I mean all of the people involved, the referee, linesman, fourth official and VAR – they didn’t do it on purpose. Yes it was a mistake, an obvious mistake.
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      “I say this not as manager of Liverpool but as a football person – I think the only outcome should be a replay. Probably will not happen.”
      Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou meanwhile broke his silence on the matter earlier today and said that he expects referees at the top level to make mistakes.
      Postecoglou said: “I don’t think anyone realised that something significant had happened during the game. It was only when I got to the press conference that I knew something important must have been happening. A fairly significant adventure in a game of football. 
      “Whatever I say will be seen through the prism that we were the beneficiaries of a mistake and we certainly were. The facts of it are that there was a legitimate goal that wasn’t given. It became clear it wasn’t an integrity issue, it was a mistake in communication that cost Liverpool a goal. 
      “We want an errorless faultless system that doesn’t exist and will never exist, unless we want to turn our game into an event that goes for four hours while we’re explaining every decision.”
      Postecoglou suggested that changing the language used around VAR checks may make it easier to decipher whether an error has been made in the future.
      He said: “From my perspective when I listened to that audio, saying ‘check complete’, someone obviously thought it was a good way of finalising things and it’s worked up until now.
      “I would have thought the logical thing is to say ‘goal for Liverpool’ and there isn’t anything but I’m saying that with the ignorance of not knowing how it’s truly set up.
      “When listening to that you probably think there’s better ways of communicating a clear decision in such a big situation.” More

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      Ange Postecoglou breaks silence on Liverpool disallowed goal as Spurs boss reveals fears over ‘sending club down’

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      SPURS manager Ange Postecoglou has broken his silence on the VAR controversy that took place in Tottenham’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool last week.Tottenham emerged from the game victorious after a 96th minute Joel Matip own goal in a game that included two contentious red card decisions for Liverpool.
      Postecoglou says he did not realise an error had occurred until after the gameCredit: Reuters
      When asked if Liverpool should have been able to walk the ball in he said it’s not up to the managers to be “arbiters” of footballCredit: Sky Sports
      But the bulk of Liverpool, and their manager, Jurgen Klopp’s, ire has been put on the decision to disallow Luis Diaz’s first-half strike to put Liverpool 1-0 up.
      Diaz was onside but the linesman flagged him as off.

      In a mix-up, which saw the VAR officials think that the on-field decision was to allow the goal, VAR chief Darren England mistakenly told the ref the game could carry on and the goal was struck off.
      A fuming Klopp said ahead of his side’s Europa League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise that he believes the game should have been replayed in light of the mistake.
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      Klopp said: “It’s important we really deal with it in a proper way. I mean all of the people involved, the referee, linesman, fourth official and VAR – they didn’t do it on purpose. Yes it was a mistake, an obvious mistake.
      “I say this not as manager of Liverpool but as a football person – I think the only outcome should be a replay. Probably will not happen.”
      It was to put to Postecoglou in his pre-match press conference before Spurs’ trip to Luton that it might have been the right thing for Spurs to allow Liverpool to score a goal once it became clear that Diaz’s goal had been wrongly ruled out.
      But Postecoglou said that he would not have instructed his team to do that because he wants to trust the process of VAR.
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      Postecoglou said: “I just don’t see that. If we want managers to be the arbiters of these kind of things. We’ve got pretty hefty responsibilities at our football clubs but we’re not the custodians.
      “I wouldn’t make a decision that could potentially send a club down on the back of what my beliefs are.
      “In that moment, if somebody could tell me that they could explain everything that went on within the prism of 30 seconds…. I have to make a decision and it wasn’t going to happen.
      “It’s different if it’s something clear. It was a bad error through a lack of communication but it wasn’t something that was easily explainable. If it was easily explainable, I would assume there would have been [less] uproar than there was.”
      The Spurs boss said he did not realise an error had been made until after the game, but said that all he can do is trust in the refereeing process and expect some degree of human error.
      He continued: “I don’t think anyone realised that something significant had happened during the game. It was only when I got to the press conference that I knew something important must have been happening. A fairly significant adventure in a game of football. 
      “Whatever I say will be seen through the prism that we were the beneficiaries of a mistake and we certainly were. The facts of it are that there was a legitimate goal that wasn’t given. It became clear it wasn’t an integrity issue, it was a mistake in communication that cost Liverpool a goal. 
      “We want an errorless faultless system that doesn’t exist and will never exist, unless we want to turn our game into an event that goes for four hours while we’re explaining every decision.”
      Postecoglou suggested that changing the language used around VAR checks may make it easier to decipher whether an error has been made in the future.
      He said: “From my perspective when I listened to that audio, saying ‘check complete’, someone obviously thought it was a good way of finalising things and it’s worked up until now.
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      “I would have thought the logical thing is to say ‘goal for Liverpool’ and there isn’t anything but I’m saying that with the ignorance of not knowing how it’s truly set up.
      “When listening to that you probably think there’s better ways of communicating a clear decision in such a big situation.” More

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      Premier League make major change to VAR protocol THIS WEEKEND to avoid repeat of Liverpool shambles

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      THE PREMIER LEAGUE have announced a major change to their VAR protocol in light of the fiasco involving Liverpool and Spurs last week.VAR bosses will now have to confirm their decisions with their VAR assistants before a decision is made from now on.
      Chief VAR operators will now have to confirm their decisions with their assistantsCredit: Rex
      The change comes after the PGMOL apologised for the wrongful application of VAR to rule out Luis Diaz’s first half goal against Tottenham Hotspur last week.
      After Liverpool requested audio of the mistake was released, it emerged that the error occurred after VAR operator Darren England thought the on-field decision was to give the goal.
      In actual fact, the linesman had raised his flag so the words “check complete” essentially meant VAR approved the decision to disallow the goal.
      After the mistake, the PGMOL said on Tuesday they would be reviewing the protocol going forward.
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      Going forward, the chief VAR operator will have to confirm his decision with his assistant (AVAR) operator before they communicate the decision back to the on-field referee.
      It is hoped that this added part of the process will provide clarity on each decision and rebuild trust in VAR as a system, something that was harmed in the events at Tottenham.
      The debate over ruling Diaz’s goal offside has rumbled on all week and saw Klopp asked about his view on the events before Thursday’s Europa League tie against Union Saint-Gilloise.
      In his press confernce, Klopp said he believed that VAR had failed so emphatically in Liverpool’s game against Tottenham that he would have liked to see the game replayed.
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      The manager said: “It’s important we really deal with it in a proper way. I mean all of the people involved, the referee, linesman, fourth official and VAR – they didn’t do it on purpose. Yes it was a mistake, an obvious mistake.
      “I say this not as manager of Liverpool but as a football person – I think the only outcome should be a replay. Probably will not happen.”
      Ironically the first game in which this new process will be implemented is the beneficiaries of last week’s cock-up, Tottenham Hotspur.

      Spurs play in the early kick-off against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Saturday at 12:30.
      Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou also had his say on the controversy ahead of tomorrow’s game, and said that he saw the mistake as an error of communication.
      Postecoglou said: “Whatever I say will be seen as we’re the beneficiary. The facts are Liverpool got a legitimate goal that wasn’t given, you have to think why did this happen.
      “It wasn’t an integrity issue, it was an error in communication, it was a mistake that cost Liverpool a goal. I get it is an unusual one but at the same time we’re in a new space with the technology.” More

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      Premier League referees earning way less than European counterparts as officials forced to travel abroad to earn more

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      PREMIER LEAGUE referees are earning way less than their European counterparts, with some forced to travel abroad to earn more dosh.English officials are under the spotlight after last weekend’s VAR disaster during Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham.
      Premier League refs like VAR official Darren England are earning less than their European counterpartsCredit: Rex
      Darren England was the man behind the tech as he failed to let Luis Diaz’s legal goal to stand.
      It emerged afterwards that he had only just returned from the UAE, having a officiated a game there.
      And based on the salary for Premier League officials compared to other European refs, going abroad appears to be a good way to make some pocket money.
      Top-flight names like England, Anthony Taylor and Michael Oliver receive a base salary of around £42,000.
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      For each individual game as the main ref, officials will also pocket £1,500.
      This drops to £850 while working as an assistant or on VAR.
      If a referee takes charge of 20 games each season, that works out at £30k.
      Another 20 matches on VAR comes to £17k.
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      And that makes for a grand annual total salary of £89k.
      But while it sounds like a lot, it’s just pennies compared with the riches on offer in Italy.
      In Serie A, referees get a base salary of £48k – and the incentives for matches are even greater.
      Officials can pocket a staggering £3,300 for each game – and £1,300 to work with VAR.
      If a ref had 20 games of each, that would work out at £66k, with VAR officials earning £26k.
      That would make for a total salary of £140k – £51k more than refs in the Premier League get.
      However, both England and Italy pale in comparison with Spain.
      The base annual salary for refs in LaLiga is £130k.
      Each game as an official is worth £3,600 – working out at £72k for 20 matches.
      VAR is worth £1,800 a pop for a total of £36k across 20 games.
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      And that brings in a mind-blowing total annual salary of nearly £240k – £151k more than Premier League refs.
      In addition, any officials deemed worthy of officiating in the Champions League will take home an extra £6k per game – making for a tasty pay day. More

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      PGMOL chief Howard Webb set to break silence on TV over shocking Liverpool VAR blunder

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      PGMOL boss Howard Webb will break his silence on the horrific VAR blunder during Tottenham’s win over Liverpool when he appears on Match Officials: Mic’d Up next week.Luis Diaz’s goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside against Spurs on Saturday, before VAR Darren England and AVAR Dan Cook made a huge error in failing to overturn the on-field decision.
      Howard Webb will appear on TV to explain the VAR blunderCredit: Getty
      VAR failed to overturn the on-field decision after Luis Diaz’s goal was wronglyCredit: Sky Sports
      The PGMOL apologised for the “significant human error” – which was that the VAR did not realise the on-field call was to disallow the goal.
      Liverpool then demanded the VAR audio be released – which it was – before Jurgen Klopp called for the game to be replayed.
      But now PGMOL chief Webb, 52, will open up about the incident on the the second episode of Match Officials: Mic’d Up.
      The programme, that will be shown on Sky Sports and TNT Sports on Tuesday, is set to be joined on the broadcast by former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen.
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      Last month’s show analysed six different VAR incidents from the opening month of the Premier League season.
      But, according to The Mail, the upcoming episode is set to focus solely on what happened at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
      It will be the first official interview from a member of the PGMOL since the huge VAR error.
      VAR England and assistant Cook have both been axed from football fixtures this weekend.
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      But referee Hooper is in line to be VAR for Bournemouth’s trip to Everton on Saturday.
      After releasing the audio from the incident, the PGMOL also included a bullet point list of “key learnings” from the call.
      They read: “Guidance to Video Match Officials has always emphasised the need for efficiency, but never at the expense of accuracy. This principle will be clearly reiterated.
      “A new VAR Communication Protocol will be developed to enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions.
      “As an additional step to the process, the VAR will confirm the outcome of the VAR check process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-field officials.” More