Manchester City were well worth their 3-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday but Virgil van Dijk controversially had a first-half equaliser ruled out for offside after Andy Robertson was claimed to have blocked Gianluigi Donnarumma’s line of vision.

If the goal had been awarded, then the two sides may have been heading in at half-time at 1-1 despite the hosts’ dominant performance and the visitors rarely having a look in. But Van Dijk found the back of the net with a glorious header in the 38th minute and thought he’d levelled matters until referee Chris Kavanagh ruled the goal out.

Arne Slot looked perplexed at the decision, and it was yet another of a long list of questionable calls made by VAR and the PGMOL this season. VAR referee Michael Oliver and his assistants were on duty at the time and their discussions between themselves and with Kavanagh have been released.

VAR’s Intervention: What Was Said in Stockley Park?

The latest edition of Sky Sports’ Match Officials Mic’d Up with Howard Webb saw the PGMOL chief and Michael Owen reflect on Van Dijk’s disallowed goal and whether the right decision was reached. During their analysis, the VAR intervention audio was played, providing insight into the thought process.

The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) could be heard stating:

“Robertson, Robertson, Robertson, Robertson. Robertson’s in line of vision, right in front of the keeper. He’s ducked under the ball. He’s very, very close to him. I think he’s in line of vision. I think he’s been impacted mate.”

On-field Referee Kavanagh responded:

“Ok, so offside then… I think offside.”

Oliver, fronting VAR on the day used the technology to rewind and go over the potential offside against Robertson:

“Checking the on field decision of offside against Andy Robertson. Delay, delay… So you’ve got a clear offside position. You’ve got a movement… Have you got a high-behind to show how high he is in terms of line of vision?”

The AVAR replied:

“I agree with the on-field decision, I think it’s offside…It’s a clear, obvious action that clearly impacts the goalkeeper.”

Oliver then spoke to Kavanagh to give a final decision:

“Chris, it’s Michael, confirming the on-field decision of offside against Andy Robertson. He is in an offside position, very close to the goalkeeper and makes an obvious movement directly in front of him.”

Reports claim that Liverpool have contacted the PGMOL with “serious concerns” regarding Van Dijk’s goal being disallowed over Robertson perceived to have been in an offside position and impacting the goalkeeper. They are said to have spoken to the organisation’s technical director, Webb, but he doesn’t seem to share their opinion on the matter.

PGMOL Chief Howard Webb’s Verdict

Webb pointed out that offside decisions involving players who don’t make contact with the ball but interfere with play are highly subjective. He suggested that Robertson was still impacting Donnarumma because he ducks after Van Dijk’s header whilst in an offside position:

“Interfering with an opponent where the offside position player doesn’t play the ball and the officials have to make a judgment whether the actions of that player impact an opponent, are some of the most subjective decisions that we have to make,” said Webb. Therefore, it’s no surprise that some people believe this goal should have stood, so I think it’s important that we look at the facts of what actually happened in this situation.”

Webb added:

“We know the corner comes in and the ball reaches Van Dijk. As the ball’s coming across the penalty area, the Manchester City players move out, they leave Robertson in that offside position in the heart of the six-yard box. When Van Dijk heads the ball forward, that’s the moment when we have to make an offside judgment about Robertson and about what he’s doing there. We know he doesn’t touch the ball but what does he do? Well, as the ball moves towards him, three yards out from goal, right in the middle of the six-yard box, he makes that clear action to duck below the ball.”

He continued:

“The ball goes just over his head, and the ball finds the goal in the half of the six-yard box where he is. Then, the officials have to make a judgment – did that clear action impact on Donnarumma, the goalkeeper, and his ability to save the ball? And that’s where the subjectivity comes into play.”

The PGMOL chief suggested that it was reasonable to go with the on-field decision:

“Obviously that’s 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. I know that’s not a view held by everybody but I think it’s not unreasonable to understand why they would form that conclusion.”

Webb further explained that the distance between the Liverpool full-back and the City goalkeeper was important:

“The player is so close to the goalkeeper, the ball’s coming right towards him and he has to duck to get out of the way of the ball – and they form the conclusion that that impacts Donnarumma’s ability just to dive towards the ball and make that save.”

He concluded:

“And then, of course, once they’ve 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? Only Donnarumma truly knows if he was impacted by this and, of course, we have to look at the factual evidence, and when we see that factual evidence of that position of the player ducking below the ball, so close to the goalkeeper, the VAR determines that the outcome of offside is not clearly and obviously wrong, and they stay out of it.”



City prevailed at the Etihad courtesy of goals from Erling Haaland (29′), Nico Gonzalez (45+3′) and Jeremy Doku (63′). But had Van Dijk’s goal stood, it would have been a vital equaliser in the 39th minute with the Reds second best and given a lifeline to build on a goal at that stage.

Slot made it clear that he felt it was the “wrong decision” not to award the goal and that it could have influenced the game in a “positive way” for his side. Their defeat means they sit eighth after 11 games with 18 points in a sorry start to their Premier League title defence.