VAR controversy overshadows Liverpool vs Wolves as ‘no definitive angle’ sees winner ruled out

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui was left furious as his side were denied a winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup, with there being was ‘no definitive angle’ at Anfield to disprove the decision of the on-field official.

The visiting side’s central defender Toti Gomes believed he had bagged the winner following on from a Wolves corner, but the goal was disallowed for offside. An entertaining clash ended 2-2 on Merseyside, meaning that a replay at Molineux will be required later this month.

The decision of the on-field assistant referee to disallow Toti’s goal was upheld by the VAR system overseeing the match. That is despite no camera angle being available to confirm the decision, with a pass back to the Wolves corner taker Matheus Nunes not having a sufficient camera angle at the stadium.

Toti thought he had won the game for Wolves at Anfield (Image: Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)

This chain of events mean that VAR were not in a position to overrule the decision of the on-field assistant. That was despite huge protestations from the visiting players and bench, with Wolves boss Lopetegui shown a yellow card for his protestations – while the Spaniard was in the official’s office after the match – along with Wolves captain Ruben Neves – to seek clarity on the decision.

“We think there is no definitive angle to prove that the assistant was wrong,” explained ITV Sport anchor Mark Pougatch after the game. “Therefore, they take the assistant’s decision.”

Eni Aluko lamented on ITV Sport when analysing the process of reaching the decision: “These are all state of the art stadiums… just show it on the screen!” Lopetegui told ITV after the game that Wolves would “have to accept” the decision.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said of the incident in his post-match interview on ITV:“I’m not sure about their third goal. We have one angle where it could be offside, but I can totally understand that Wolves is not happy with that.

“The camera or VAR didn’t work properly. We don’t want the VAR to just have one angle. So that’s then tricky. But now we have to play again.”

Wolves boss Lopetegui was booked for his protests (Image: Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)

Have Your Say! What did you make of the Wolves offside goal? Tell us what you think here.

Wolves were already feeling frustrated in the match as Mohamed Salah’s goal that had given Liverpool the lead in the second half came despite the Egyptian being in an offside position. Salah’s goal counted as Wolves defender Toti got his head to a pass forward to divert it into Salah’s path.

Salah was categorically, by the law, onside but only because Toti deliberately played the ball. Yet the defender only played the ball because of Salah’s positioning. That sense of unfairness and injustice only grew when, having levelled the game, Wolves were contentiously denied a late winner.