Controversial VAR official involved in Luis Diaz offside farce will officiate Liverpool vs Man Utd

Liverpool take on Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday but supporters on Merseyside might have had their confidence knocked slightly by a refereeing appointment.

Liverpool fans will be confident of victory against their bitter rivals, thanks in part to the form of Jurgen Klopp's side and the struggles of United.

The Reds sit top of the Premier League table after 16 games, one point ahead of Arsenal, two above Aston Villa and four points in front of reigning champions Manchester City.

By contrast, United find themselves sixth in the standings and 10 points adrift of Liverpool, having already lost seven matches this term.

Klopp's side are unbeaten in their last nine league outings, with their only league defeat of the campaign coming in controversial circumstances against Tottenham on September 30.

Nine-man Liverpool lost 2-1 that day, and were incensed that a VAR howler incorrectly chalked off a perfectly legitimate goal scored by Luis Diaz.

The Colombian attacker thought he had opened the scoring in the first half but the linesman flagged for offside. The VAR Darren England and Assistant VAR Dan Cook reviewed the incident but a breakdown in communication meant that they thought the on-field decision had been to award the goal.

Therefore, when they told referee Simon Hooper to stick with the on-field decision, the game restarted with an indirect free-kick for Spurs.

VAR controversially ruled out Luis Diaz's goal. (Image: Getty)

Both immediately realised their mistake, but protocol dictates that the decision cannot be changed once the match has been restarted.

Liverpool fans won't be thrilled to learn that Cook has been appointed as one of the assistant referees for Sunday's huge clash with United.

On the other hand, they'll be glad that he isn't on VAR duty.

Liverpool were understandably furious after the Tottenham incident, with Klopp arguing that the match should be replayed.

Both England and Cook were dropped from officiating duties for one round of Premier League matches but both soon returned to duty.

Topics: Liverpool, Manchester United, Premier League, VAR

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton