Jurgen Klopp calls for Liverpool’s match at Tottenham to be replayed over VAR blunder

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called for an unprecedented replay of their Premier League fixture against Tottenham following the major VAR error during the match on Saturday.

The decision was so widely derided and controversial that on Monday the club made a formal request for the recording between officials from the defeat to Tottenham.

On Tuesday, the refereeing body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) released a second statement along with the audio between match officials, sending it to Liverpool along with an improved communication protocol and double-checking outcomes between VAR and the assistant.

But Klopp does not feel that that makes up for Luis Diaz’ first goal on Saturday being ruled out and changing the course of the fixture – which Liverpool eventually lost 2-1.

“Something like this never happened, so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do,” Klopp said. “The audio didn’t change it at all. It is an obvious mistake. There should be solutions for that. The outcome should be a replay. But it probably won’t happen.

“The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened.”

The entire event has been problematic, especially when it emerged Simon Hooper and his team – those involved in the Tottenham vs Liverpool match – were on duty at a fixture in the UAE, just 48 hours previously.

On the tapes itself, the error was quickly noticed but there was a statement that nothing could be done as the match had already resumed – despite the wrong call being made.

On whether the club had asked – or would ask – the Premier League for a replay formally, Klopp added: “At this stage, we are still going through the information we have.”