Liverpool have contacted the Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) over the decision to disallow Virgil van Dijk's header in Sunday's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, disputing the interpretation of the offside law.
The goal was ruled out in the 38th minute, with City leading 1-0. Referee Chris Kavanagh's on-field decision was backed by VAR Michael Oliver, who judged that Andy Robertson was in an offside position and had made an obvious action directly in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma when ducking out of the way of Van Dijk's header.
Liverpool believe the City goalkeeper's line of vision was not affected and have written to Howard Webb, the head of the refereeing body, to challenge the decision. They argue that Law 11 only applies if the player interferes with an opponent by preventing them from playing or being able to play the ball, and that Robertson's actions did not meet that threshold.
Head coach Arne Slot refused to blame the controversy for the defeat but insisted a clear and obvious error had been made. "He [Robertson] didn't interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do," Slot said, adding that the same referee had allowed a similar goal for City against Wolves last season when Bernardo Silva stood in an offside position near the goalkeeper as John Stones scored with a header.
Slot noted that it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag in that incident, suggesting communication had taken place. He added that being 2-0 down at half-time was a fair reflection of how the game went.
