Topics: Football, Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, Luis Diaz, Tottenham Hotspur, VAR
Jurgen Klopp has spoken for the first time since the PGMOL released VAR audio from Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal.
On Saturday, Diaz had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside during Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur.
Since then, the PGMOL and VAR have been heavily criticised over their handling of the situation.
On Tuesday evening, the VAR audio was released to the public for the first time.
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Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Europa League clash against Union Saint-Gilloise, Klopp has reacted to the audio.
He told reporters: "The audio did not change it at all, I was not interested in what things happened as I saw the outcome, we scored and it did not count.
“It's really important that as big as football is and important as football is we deal with it in a proper way. All the people involved, the on-field referee, linesman, fourth official and especially in this case VAR, didn't do that on purpose. It was an obvious mistake and I think there would have been solutions for it afterwards.
“Some people probably don't want me to say, but not as the manager of Liverpool so much, more as a football person, the only outcome should be a replay. That's how it is. It probably will not happen.”
He continued: “The argument against [a replay] will probably be if we open that gate then everybody will ask for it. The situation is so unprecedented that I'm 56 years old and I'm absolutely used to wrong decisions, difficult decisions but something like that as far as I can remember never happened.
“That's why I think a replay would be the right thing. If it happened again, a replay would be the right thing to do or the referee has the opportunity to bring both coaches together and say, 'Sorry we made a mistake but we can solve it. Let Liverpool score a goal and we can start from there.'
“I'm not angry with anybody, not at all. We should not go for them. They made a mistake and they felt horrible that night, I'm 100 per cent sure. That's enough for me, nobody needs further punishment.”
Speaking about VAR in general, Klopp added: "The wording, clear and obvious, is not the right wording. These things should not happen. Other mistakes should not happen. Find a solution to deal with it. We rush them and we get a quick decision, but the wrong decision.
"The problems are obvious, but they are sortable. We should try to create a situation where these people can make the best decisions."
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