A VAR expert has confirmed why Harvey Elliott’s goal against Burnley had to be ruled out.
On Tuesday night, Liverpool recorded a hard-fought victory against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley side at Turf Moor.
The Reds got off to the perfect start after Darwin Nunez gave them the lead after just six minutes.
In the second half, Liverpool continued to push for a second goal, which they thought came in the 55th minute after Elliott finished off a fine move.
Advert
However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was chalked off for offside as Mohamed Salah was stood in front of Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.
The decision left fans fuming as replays showed that Salah was pushed into an offside position by a Burnley player.
Now, ESPN’s Dale Johnson has explained the situation. When asked about the decision considering Salah was pushed, Johnson wrote: “Happens all the time on set-pieces. If it's not a foul nothing can be done.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was not happy with the decision.
The German said: “It’s insane - honestly. This man [the referee] if he never played football, then it can happen. You think: "Offside rule, let me see. Page seven, there’s somebody between him and the goalie" - that’s ridiculous.
“Why do referees create their own view on something? We all need referees, but we need them with the right interpretation of the rules.”
Klopp continued: “How can you make this situation not a goal? That’s a clear goal.”
Luckily for Liverpool, they eventually found their second goal thanks to the returning Diogo Jota, who unleashed a low shot from a tight angle in the 90th minute to seal a 2-0 win.
Liverpool climbed to the top of the Premier League on the back of their win against Burnley. Arsenal can reclaim the top spot with a win at West Ham United on Thursday night.
Topics: Liverpool, Premier League, Harvey Elliott, Football, VAR
Marcus Chan