Liverpool Football Club have taken the extraordinary step of filing an official complaint with the Professional Games Match Officials (PGMO) following the controversial decision to disallow Virgil van Dijk's goal during their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The Controversial Incident
The pivotal moment occurred in the 38th minute at the Etihad Stadium with City leading 1-0. Van Dijk powered a header past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, but referee Chris Kavanagh ruled it out after consulting VAR official Michael Oliver.
The officials determined that Andy Robertson, who was in an offside position, interfered with play by making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper as he ducked out of the way of Van Dijk's header.
Liverpool's Legal Challenge
Liverpool fundamentally disagree with this interpretation and have contacted Howard Webb, head of the refereeing body, to challenge the decision. The club maintain that Donnarumma's line of vision wasn't affected by Robertson's movement.
The Merseyside club argue that the incident doesn't meet the criteria outlined in Law 11 of the game's regulations. According to the offside law, a player should only be penalised for interfering with an opponent by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision or making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.
Slot's Measured Response
Despite the controversy, Liverpool manager Arne Slot refused to blame the decision for his team's comprehensive defeat in what was Pep Guardiola's 1,000th managerial game.
The Dutch coach did, however, highlight what he believes was a clear error, referencing a similar incident from last season where City benefited from a goal being allowed to stand. Bernardo Silva was in an offside position close to the goalkeeper when John Stones scored with a header against Wolves, yet that goal was permitted.
Slot stated: "He [Robertson] didn't interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do. That could have influenced the game in a positive way for us, but I would like to emphasise that being 2-0 down at half-time was a fair reflection of how the game went."
The defeat leaves Liverpool facing what Andrew Robertson admitted is a huge uphill battle to retain their Premier League title, though the club's formal complaint signals they won't let what they perceive as officiating errors pass without challenge.
