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Virgil Van Dijk’s goal was ruled out by VAR for an offside on Andy Robertson. Robertson ducked out of the way of the ball. Eight minutes later, Man City go up 2-0.
Was it correct to disallow Liverpool equaliser?
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Van Dijk goal against Man City ‘should have stoo
Liverpool may have been on the end of a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, but did a pivotal moment dramatically alter the course of the game?
The Premier League champions were 1-0 down at the time following Erling Haaland’s opener just before the half-hour mark.
However, the Reds thought they had equalised in the 38th minute when captain Virgil van Dijk headed home.
The Netherlands centre-back escaped the attentions of Matheus Nunes and met Mohamed Salah’s inswinging corner just outside the six-yard box.
Van Dijk planted a powerful header beyond the dive of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and ran off in celebration.
However, the assistant referee then decided to raise his flag and a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) determined that Liverpool defender Andy Robertson interfered with play from an offside position and it was disallowed.
Robertson had his back to goal just in front of the line, behind Jeremy Doku, and ducked out of the way of Van Dijk’s header.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot told Sky Sports it was “obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made” to disallow the goal.
“He didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed – City against Wolves last season,” he said.
“So it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it was offside. So there was clearly communication, but as I said that [goal] could have influenced the game in a positive way for us.”
Van Dijk said that “the officials are deciding the key decisions” and there was “no point discussing this from my point of view”.
He added: “It doesn’t matter what I say [about the goal] because anything I say will be in the media and the whole international break will be about my comment on the decision.”
So was it the correct call?
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What does the law say?
Image source,Getty Images
Image caption,
Virgil van Dijk was unhappy with the decision to disallow the goal
Offside is covered by law 11 of the IFAB Laws of the Game 2025-26., external
The graphic below clarifies the law and the Premier League’s match centre on X made specific reference to the incident.
“The referee’s call of offside and no goal to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Robertson in an offside position and deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper,” it said.
Image source,Premier League
‘The wrong decision’ – what the pundits said
Image source,Getty Images
Image caption,
Andrew Robertson ducked out of the way of Virgil van Dijk’s header to allow the ball to go into the net
The decision to disallow Van Dijk’s goal provoked debate among pundits.
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said the goal “should stand” because Robertson was “not in Donnarumma’s line of vision”.
Ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville said during Sky Sports’ commentary he was “not sure” if it should have been chalked off because Robertson was “to the left of Donnarumma” and he was “not convinced” the City goalkeeper “is ever getting near that”.
Former Aston Villa forward Dion Dublin said “Robertson is in an offside position” but crucially was “not in his [Donnarumma’s] eyeline”.
“I have seen it two or three times and if anyone could be in his eyeline it would be Jeremy Doku,” Dublin added.
Ex-Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney agreed that it should have stood and said: “I don’t think Andy Robertson delayed Donnarumma diving. The City keeper can see the ball the whole way so I think that was the wrong decision.”

03:21
Media caption,
Liverpool ‘completely dominated’ by Manchester City in first half, says Slot
‘Not about the line of vision’ – analysis
ByDale Johnson
Football issues correspondent
Subjective offside decisions, those where the player does not touch the ball, are always controversial.
They require interpretation about impact from the officials, and that is often not straightforward.
And Chris Kavanagh, who was the referee for Sunday’s game, knows all about them.
As Virgil van Dijk’s header made its way towards goal, Andrew Robertson ducked to allow the ball to go into the net. The Scotland international was stood offside, and the assistant raised his flag for offside.
This decision was not about line of vision, but “an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball”.
The offside law does not require a referee to think Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma would definitely save it, only that his ability to do so has been affected. It is the ducking motion which is absolutely crucial because it could put doubt into the goalkeeper’s mind about a potential touch.
If Donnarumma had not been stood close to Robertson, or if the Scotland international was not in the six-yard area, the case for offside would have been weak.
But there must be an argument that Donnarumma had been impacted. For that reason, as the on-field team gave offside, it was not likely to be overturned through a VAR review.
It is a borderline call, but still supportable as an on-field decision.
However, officials are advised it’s usually best to leave complicated subjective offside decisions to the VAR, and if that had happened Liverpool would likely have had an equaliser.
A good comparison is a disallowed Everton goal against Manchester United in March 2020. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s shot was deflected towards goal, and an offside Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was sat inside the six-yard box, withdrew his legs to allow the ball through. The referee? Chris Kavanagh.
We can compare it to a goal which was given through VAR last season. John Stones’ late winner for Manchester City at Wolves was chalked off on the field for Bernardo Silva being in the line of vision of goalkeeper Jose Sa.
But while he was close to Sa he wasn’t in front of him and, unlike Robertson, he did not duck out of the path of the ball. The referee? Chris Kavanagh.
We have seen a couple of similar situations this season – a Manchester United goal at Nottingham Forest, and one for Leeds against Bournemouth – where an offside player has made a small movement away from the ball.
In those cases it was felt that movement and the positions of the players (they were not inside the six-yard box) was not enough to affect the goalkeeper.
FA Cup third round LIVE! Match updates, score, match report as Premier League teams enter the competition
Sunday 11 January 2026 14:27, UK
FA Cup third round LIVE!
First Half: Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal – Gunners score twice from two set pieces! View post
2.30pm: West Ham vs QPR | Sheff Utd vs Mansfield | Hull vs Blackburn | Norwich vs Walsall | Swansea vs West Brom
4.30pm: Man Utd vs Brighton | FT: Derby 1-3 Leeds
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal (Martinelli, 25)
Arsenal’s set piece strength comes to the fore again!
It’s far too easy for the Gunners from a Portsmouth perspective.
Martinelli rises highest at the near post to flick Madueke’s corner into the back of the net.
FA Cup third round LIVE! Match updates, score, match report as Premier League teams enter the competition
Sunday 11 January 2026 14:10, UK
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-1 Arsenal (Dozzell OG, 8)
Arsenal get an instant response and of course, it is a set piece!
Eze’s corner is flicked on at the near post and there’s a scramble in the box.
Noorgard is there to disrupt as the ball crosses the line.
it’s not clear who got the decisive touch but the goal is given as a Dozzell own goal.
Game on!
FA Cup third round LIVE!
First Half: Portsmouth 1-1 Arsenal – Own-goal cancels out Pompey’s early opener View post
FT: Derby 1-3 Leeds – Leeds complete second-half turnaround View post
2.30pm: West Ham vs QPR | Sheff Utd vs Mansfield | Hull vs Blackburn | Norwich vs Walsall | Swansea vs West Brom
4.30pm: Man Utd vs Brighton
Preview: Portsmouth v Arsenal
Our quest to add to our record 14 FA Cup triumphs begins at Portsmouth’s Fratton Park on Sunday (2pm UK), as our fight for silverware moves onto a fourth front.
We start the first of four successive away games, all in different competitions, by heading to the home of the Championship side for the first time in six years. Back then, we advanced into the quarter-finals of the competition, en route to lifting the trophy in the early months of Mikel Arteta’s reign.
He’ll hope that history repeats itself in more ways than one, and the omens are good as we haven’t lost to Portsmouth in our last 22 meetings, a run that incredibly stretches back 67 years to 1958.
Welcome cup distraction

In their second season back in the second tier, Pompey are once again scrapping to maintain that status. Last term saw them finish 16th, five points above the relegation zone, but things are more precarious this time around, as they sit 21st, one point above the drop zone, albeit with games in hand.
Manager John Mousinho was handed his first managerial role by the club just over three years ago, and has rewarded that faith by leading them to the League One title in his first full season in charge. But after a promising start to this campaign that brought a single defeat in their opening five Championship games, the south-coast club have slowly slipped down the table.
They come into this cup tie with one win in their last four, albeit that came in their last home game – a 2-1 success over Charlton Athletic thanks to a 98th-minute winner. 2026 began with a chastening 5-0 loss at Bristol City, before last weekend’s game against Ipswich Town was postponed due to a frozen pitch, leaving them without a fixture for 11 days.
What the managers say

Arteta: “We want [more trophies] for sure, that’s what we are chasing. That’s the purpose of this team.
“At the end, I think we have to get judged, and we get judged for what we do today. Last week is not important and we will get judged for what we are able to do at the end of the season. One thing is the trophies for our football club and the many other things that you have to do in a football club, especially in the situation we are in.”

Mousinho: “The fact that we have a free week building up to the game and a free week after it means we’re not worried about fixture congestion. The fact that we’ve drawn Arsenal at home means it’s a massive opportunity for us to go and enjoy the day and put on a decent enough performance and enjoy the FA Cup.
“There are some very good sides in the Championship, but it just so happens that this weekend we’re playing one of the best sides in the world. It’s an exciting proposition, a bit of a daunting one as well, but we just have to prepare as we normally would.”
Team news

Piero Hincapie came off during the 0-0 draw against Liverpool on Thursday and is a doubt, while Arteta suggested before that match that Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera are still a little bit away from returning from their injuries.
Max Dowman is nursing a hamstring issue, while Kai Havertz could be an option as he continues to work his way back from the knee injury he sustained on the opening day.
Portsmouth have a packed treatment room at present, which got fuller this week when midfielder Mark Kosznovszky was ruled out long-term with a serious ACL injury, while centre-backs Hayden Matthews (ankle) and Josh Knight (back) have missed recent matches and will do so again here.
Forwards Callum Lang and Josh Murphy are a few weeks away from returning from their hamstring injuries, so Mousinho will be hoping that captain Marlon Pack and striker Colby Bishop will recover from their issues to feature, especially after Minhyeok Yang was recalled by Tottenham Hotspur earlier this week.
Talking tactics

Adrian Clarke: Mousinho likes to use a 4-2-3-1 that focuses hard on releasing his wingers down the sides, but he also occasionally plays a back five. Their young head coach may wish to opt for safety in numbers – but his side are certainly more comfortable in their preferred set-up.
In possession, they have a balanced approach, play through the thirds, and they love to get the ball to their wingers, who tend to put plenty of crosses into the box. But Mousinho’s men will also go direct at times – no Championship side averages more long passes (69 per 90 minutes) than Portsmouth.
Scoring goals has been an issue, netting just 21 times in league games – the second-lowest tally – while their top scorer is central attacking midfielder Adrian Segecic [above] who has four of them. They have also had issues defending crosses which has led to them conceding 14 set-piece goals: the second most at Championship level, while eight of the 35 goals they have let in have been headers.
Backed by vociferous support at Fratton Park, Pompey will try to upset our rhythm with fierce closing down and a well-organised shape. Known for displaying fight on home turf, they have beaten three of the Championship’s top five on their own patch this season, and as shown by the fact they’ve yet to concede more than twice in a home match too, they can be a tough nut to crack.
Facts and stats

Portsmouth are winless in their last 22 games against us in all competitions (D8 L14), dating back to a 5-4 win in March 1958. Only against Chelsea (31 between 1962 and 2012) have they ever had a longer winless run.
We have progressed from all four of our FA Cup ties against Pompey, in 1931/32, 1970/71, 2003/04 and 2019/20. We’ve only faced Brighton and Leyton Orient in more ties with a 100% success rate (5/5).
Portsmouth have lost their last three FA Cup third-round ties and their last five FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition since beating Tottenham Hotspur in the 2009/10 semi-final.
We have been eliminated from the FA Cup third round in each of the last two seasons, albeit against top-flight opposition in Liverpool and Man Utd. We haven’t gone out at this stage in more consecutive campaigns since a run of four between 1938/39 and 1947/48.
Read more
Storey’s pair of penalties pip Portsmouth in 1971
Match officials

Tony Harrington has been handed just his second Gunners game, and we won the previous two. We beat Southampton 3-1 last season, while he was also the man in the middle for last month’s 2-0 success over Brentford. He has refereed 14 games in all competitions this term, averaging 3.1 yellow cards a game, and he has sent off two players and awarded two penalties.
If the scores are level after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time will follow before a penalty shootout if required. VAR will not be in operation at this stage of the competition.
Referee: Tony Harrington
Assistants: Steven Meredith & Sian Massey-Ellis
Fourth official: Leigh Doughty
Previous trips to Pompey
This will be our first trip to Fratton Park since 2020 – the season in which we last won the FA Cup. That encounter was at the fifth-round stage, and a youthful side progressed thanks to goals from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah.
You have to go back to December 2009 for the previous league encounter when we ventured down to the south coast for a Premier League clash, and were 4-1 victors with Eduardo, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Song all finding the net. Seven months earlier, we also recorded a three-goal winning margin when a double from Nicklas Bendtner and a Carlos Vela effort secured three points.
Tune into Arsenal.com and the official app just before kick-off to get live commentary of the game, with Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke talking you through all the on-field action.
You can also find out which broadcaster is showing the action live wherever you are in the world.
Read more
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