Explainer: Can Tottenham vs Liverpool Clash Be Replayed After Massive VAR Blunder?

• There has been a suggestion that the Tottenham vs Liverpool match should be replayed
• The Saturday cracker was marred with a VAR blunder that saw Liverpool denied a clear goal
• The match ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Reds, with Joel Matip scoring an own goal at the death

The Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool Premier League clash was marred with controversies surrounding VAR decisions that greatly impacted the outcome of the tie.

The two in-form English giants squared it off on Saturday, September 30, with Tottenham emerging as the victors.

According to The Guardian, Son Heung-min and Cody Gakpo were on target for either side before Joel Matip netted an own goal at stoppage time to hand Spurs a vital win.

Tottenham took the lead via Heung-min in the 36th minute, shortly after the Reds had been reduced to 10 men.

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However, Gakpo restored parity before the stroke of half-time as the two teams headed into the break level.

The tie took a fresh turn shortly after the break after Diogo Jota was red-carded, leaving Liverpool with only nine men on the pitch.

Luis Diaz's goal causes controversy

However, it was Luis Diaz's first-half goal that was ruled out for an offside that became the biggest talking point of the match.

Diaz thought he had handed his side the lead in the early exchanges, only for his goal to be incorrectly disallowed.

It is understood that VAR official Darren England later informed referee Simon Hooper that the goal should have been allowed.

GiveMeSports reports that Hooper restarted play with a Tottenham free kick, believing that VAR had confirmed the offside call.

In fact, VAR official Darren England had mistakenly believed that Diaz had not been flagged offside, and had told Hooper "check complete" in error.

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The decision sparked anger and outrage from several quarters, prompting Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to comment on the subject.

PGMOL releases statement

PGMOL went on to release a statement after the match, with the body admitting Liverpool's goal should have stood.

“PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool," the statement said.

“The goal by Luiz Díaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials. This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene," the statement continued.

Can Tottenham vs. Liverpool be replayed?

There has been a suggestion that these events could occasion a rematch between the two teams.

But can this happen?

According to The Athletic, this is unlikely to happen despite Liverpool pushing for an exploration of the range of options available.

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It is understood that a replay could have happened had referee Hooper gone back and reversed the decision to award the goal.

Such a move would have led to a 'fundamental breach of the protocols and the Laws of the Game.'

This could have seen Tottenham protest due to the violation of the current laws, prompting the Football Association to agree with the Premier League that the match should be replayed.

Back in the 2013/14 season, the Premier League Board decided to replay the Leicester City vs. Hull City match after it was discovered that a linesman had made a serious error of judgment.

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Sports Brief also reported on the Premier League top scorers after 7 matches, with Manchester City ace, Erling Haaland currently leading the line.

Ollie Watkins’ hat-trick against Brighton on Saturday saw him climb to fourth on the list, while Son Heung-min kept pace with a goal versus Liverpool.