The audio that led to Luis Diaz's goal being wrongly disallowed by VAR in Liverpool's defeat at Tottenham has been released publicly by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited.
In the recording, published on the Premier League website, VAR Darren England swears twice upon being told of his mistake.
Diaz was incorrectly adjudged to have been offside on the field after netting in the first half of Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday, a decision which was not over-ruled by England and his assistant Daniel Cook.
Liverpool asked for a recording of what happened and Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has taken the step to publicly release the communication into how the bungled verdict was reached.
PGMOL said England "lost sight of the on-field decision" due to "a lapse of concentration and loss of focus".
In the recording, England says "check complete, check complete. That’s fine, perfect" before the replay operator and then Cook question whether the correct decision has been made.
"Offside, goal, yeah. That's wrong that, Daz," Cook is heard saying.
England swears upon realising the error and then says "they’ve restarted the game. Can’t do anything, can’t do anything" as the replay operator makes repeated calls to delay the match.
VAR protocols state that once the game has been restarted, there is no way back to revisit a decision.
England then issues another expletive before the tape finishes, the end of an incident in which PGMOL, the referees’ body, admitted immediately after the match that a "significant human error" had occurred.
Liverpool said "sporting integrity has been undermined", while they released a statement the following day indicating they would explore their options given the "clear need for escalation and resolution".
Transcript of VAR decision
VAR: Possible offside, Diaz.
Assistant referee 2: Give it.
Assistant referee 1: Coming back for the offside, mate.
VAR: Just checking the offside. Delay, delay. Give the kick point, let's go. Kick point please?
Referee: Yeah, no worries mate.
Replay operator: So, here we are. Just get a tight angle.
VAR: Yeah, give me 2D line ready after this one for frame two after that.
Replay operator: So frame two there?
VAR: That’s fine. Perfect, yeah. 2D line on the left boot.
Replay operator: Let me just switch angles.
VAR: Romero, I think it is?
Replay operator: I think it might be this angle better? Happy with this angle?
VAR: Yep.
Replay operator: 2D line on the boot?
VAR: 2D line on the boot.
Replay operator: Yeah, okay. So 2D line on the boot.
VAR: And stop. Check complete, check complete. That’s fine, perfect.
Assistant referee 1: Playing.
Referee: Cheers mate.
VAR: Thank you mate.
Referee: Well done boys, good process.
Replay operator: Wait, wait, wait, wait. The on-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this?
Assistant VAR: Yeah.
Replay operator: Are you happy with this?
Assistant VAR: Offside, goal, yeah. That’s wrong that, Daz.
VAR: What?
Replay operator: On-field decision was offside. Are you happy with this image? Yeah, it’s onside. The image that we gave them is onside.
Assistant VAR: He’s played him, he’s gone offside.
VAR: Oh *expletive*
Replay operator: Delay, delay. Oli’s (PGMOL Hub Ops) saying to delay, Oli’s saying to delay.
VAR: Pardon?
Replay operator: Oli’s calling in to say delay the game. The decision is onside.
VAR: Can’t do anything.
Replay operator: Oli’s saying to delay, Oli’s saying to delay.
VAR: Oli?
Fourth official: Yeah?
Replay operator: Delay the game, to delay the game? Stop the game.
VAR: They’ve restarted the game. Can’t do anything, can’t do anything.
Assistant VAR: Yeah, they’ve restarted. Yeah.
VAR: I can’t do anything. I can’t do anything. *expletive*
PGMOL said in a statement on Tuesday evening that "standards fell short of expectations" and it has identified three key learnings "to mitigate against the risk of a future error".
Liverpool said on Sunday they would explore their options given the "clear need for escalation and resolution" and PGMOL has provided a detailed report alongside the audio to the Premier League, which has in turn shared with Liverpool and the other 19 top-flight clubs.
PGMOL will stress the importance of accuracy ahead of efficiency to its video match officials, while a "new VAR communication protocol will be developed to enhance the clarity of communication between the referee and the VAR team in relation to on-field decisions".
PGMOL added in a statement: "As an additional step to the process, the VAR will confirm the outcome of the VAR check process with the AVAR before confirming the final decision to the on-field officials.
"We recognise standards fell short of expectations and acknowledged the error to Liverpool immediately after the conclusion of the fixture."
England and his assistant VAR, Daniel Cook, have not been selected for Premier League matches this weekend following the Diaz incident.
The pair had also been replaced for duties they were due to fulfil on Sunday and Monday respectively.
A Premier League spokesperson said: "Having reviewed all relevant footage of the disallowed Luis Diaz goal during the Tottenham Hotspur FC versus Liverpool FC match on Saturday, and PGMOL's report into the incident, it is clear that there were not only human errors but systemic weaknesses in the VAR process.
"We accept PGMOL’s immediate recommendations to ensure that such failures are not repeated in the future.
"However, a wider review to seek consistently higher standards of VAR performance will be conducted by the Premier League and PGMOL, supported by other stakeholders, and where necessary further recommended actions will be brought forward and implemented.
"We have communicated fully with Liverpool FC on this matter and have shared PGMOL’s findings and relevant footage of the incident with all Premier League clubs."
Watch Manchester United v Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday from 7.30pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
Watch the Sports Direct FAI Cup semi-finals, Galway United v Bohemians (Saturday 2.30pm) and Cork City v St Patrick's Athletic (Sunday 2.30pm) on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player and follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
