{"id":134701,"date":"2025-11-11T21:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/134701\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T21:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T21:54:11","slug":"van-dijk-goal-decision-vs-man-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/134701\/","title":{"rendered":"Van Dijk Goal Decision vs Man City"},"content":{"rendered":"

PGMOL chief Howard Webb has declared it \u201cnot unreasonable\u201d that officials ruled out Virgil van Dijk<\/a>\u2018s goal against Man City<\/a> after Andy Robertson<\/a> was ruled offside.<\/p>\n

Van Dijk had appeared to equalise for Liverpool in the first half against Man City<\/a> after converting Mo Salah<\/a>\u2018s corner delivery, only for the linesman to rule an offside infringement.<\/p>\n

Andy Robertson<\/a> was deemed to have impeded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from an offside position, with VAR Michael Oliver subsequently confirming the on-field decision. <\/p>\n

Liverpool have since contacted<\/a> Webb to raise concerns over VAR\u2019s procedures when reviewing the goal, as they believe Robertson did not meet the criteria to rule it out.<\/p>\n

In the latest episode of Match Officials Mic\u2019d Up, aired on Sky Sports, the audio from referee Chris Kavanagh, assistant referee Stuart Burt, VAR Oliver and his assistant Tim Wood has been released.<\/p>\n

Referee audio for Andy Robertson offside decision<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The audio transcription of the VAR procedure is as follows:<\/p>\n

Burt (assistant referee): \u201cRobertson, Robertson, Robertson. Robertson\u2019s in line of vision, right in front of the keeper. He\u2019s ducked under the ball. He\u2019s very, very close to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s line of vision. I think he\u2019s been impacted, mate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kavanagh (referee): \u201cOK so, offside then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burt: \u201cI think offside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kavanagh: \u201cOn-field decision is offside.\u201d <\/p>\n

Oliver: \u201cSo, you\u2019ve got clear offside position. You\u2019ve got movement\u2026have you got a high-behind to show how high he is in terms of line of vision?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood (AVAR): \u201cI agree with the on-field decision. I think it\u2019s offside. It\u2019s a clear and obvious action which clearly impacts on the goalkeeper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliver: \u201cChris, it\u2019s Michael. Confirming the on-field decision of offside against Andy Robertson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is in an offside position, very close to the goalkeeper and makes an obvious movement directly in front of him. Check complete, offside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not a lot of time was taken to explore the \u2018line of vision\u2019, was there? <\/p>\n

Howard Webb backs officials over disallowed Van Dijk goal<\/p>\n

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Webb acknowledged that there is a difference in opinion over whether the goal should have stood or not, which is putting it lightly, but he stood by his officials. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe officials have to make a judgment \u2013 did that clear action impact on Donnarumma, the goalkeeper, and his ability to save the ball? And that\u2019s where the subjectivity comes into play,\u201d Webb said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously that\u2019s the conclusion they drew on that. They looked at that position, they looked at that action, so close to the goalkeeper, and they formed that opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that\u2019s not a view held by everybody but I think it\u2019s not unreasonable to understand why they would form that conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, of course, once they\u2019ve made that on-field decision, the job of the VAR is to look at that and decide, was the outcome of offside clearly and obviously wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the audio of Virgil van Dijk’s goal against Manchester City being disallowed ?<\/p>\n

Speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up, PGMO chief Howard Webb explains why VAR did not intervene to overturn the decision. pic.twitter.com\/l3sYMYmjJR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

He then added that there was more than one issue considered by the officials after challenged by Michael Owen<\/a> that Donnarumma had perfect vision of the ball throughout its entire journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do hear the assistant [VAR], in this case, talk about line of vision,\u201d Webb said. \u201cI agree with you, the line of vision, normally, would relate to the view being blocked of the ball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn that one, he does see the ball all the way, but the assistant also talks about other things, ducking below the ball, being close to the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose in themselves can be enough to penalise a player for offside, interfering with an opponent, even if the keeper can see the ball coming all the way along.<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still in front of the goalkeeper, he still makes that ducking action that could still cause hesitation from the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, [apart from] the line of vision, there\u2019s other aspects that can also say that this is an offside offence, and that\u2019s why the VAR left it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was an influential moment in the match and while Liverpool deservedly left the Etihad with no points, the scoreline could have been 1-1, or 2-1, at half-time instead of 2-0. <\/p>\n

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