PGMOL chief Howard Webb contacted Liverpool to apologise for the officiating error that led to Luis Diaz’s goal incorrectly being disallowed against Tottenham Hotspur, but the Reds could still be fined by the FA after collecting eight yellow and red cards.
The Reds, who finished the game with nine men, suffered a last minute loss following Joel Matip’s 96th-minute own goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Meanwhile, Liverpool were left infuriated after the PGMOL confirmed after the game that Luis Diaz had earlier wrongly had a goal disallowed for offside due to VAR human error.
Reports have revealed that the PGMOL chief Howard Webb did reach out to the club to tender an apology for the disallowed goal after the final whistle.
But it will be little consolation to the Reds following the narrow defeat, with is by no means the only incident in the club capital that club bosses feel aggrieved by.
Yet Liverpool’s misery might not end there following their ‘ill-discipline’ in the capital. Jurgen Klopp’s side saw Curtis Jones controversially shown a straight red card for a foul on Yves Bissouma in the first half in North London following VAR intervention, while Diogo Jota was sent off for two bookable offences in quick-succession after the break.
Alexis Mac Allister, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, and Virgil van Dijk were also all cautioned, along with assistant manager Peter Krawietz. The FA punishes clubs who accrue more than five bookings in a game, with the Reds susceptible to being issued with a fine as a result.
A £25,000 fine is the common punishment for any side that accumulates six or more cards in a single match. By the letter of the law, Liverpool will be punished as a result.
It is now up to the FA to decide if they will officially take action or not. Yet when you consider that the majority of the club’s cards were only a result of the way the game unfolded after officiating errors, it remains to be seen if they will actually hold Liverpool to account or take into consideration the mistakes that backed the Reds into such a corner in the first place.
Liverpool have now seen four players sent off this season, with manager Klopp insisting that his team are not a dirty side despite their recent ill-discipline.
“It’s important to me that people don’t start thinking we have so many red cards so we are a kicking team,” the German told reporters after his side’s loss to Spurs. “We don’t (go kicking players).
“The first red card for Alex wasn’t a red card. Second is for a normal foul I would say. Third is for that situation (about Curtis), and the fourth I don’t understand how many games where you see 11 vs 9. It doesn’t happen all that often and we were not kicking Tottenham players. We were trying to play football.
“The first yellow is not a clear yellow and the second is a yellow, maybe. That made everything difficult.”
Jones is set to be out of Premier League action until next month as he serves a three-game ban, while Jota will sit out the Reds’ trip to Brighton next weekend as he serves a one-match suspension.
Mac Allister is also closing in on a possible one-match suspension after he was issued with his third booking of the season against Spurs.
Any player who earns five bookings from his side’s first 19 Premier League matches is required to serve an automatic one-match ban in the same competition.
