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One of the officials who was involved in Luis Diaz’s infamous disallowed goal for Liverpool against Tottenham will be in action on Sunday at Anfield, as Manchester United come to town.
In what could prove to be a pivotal match for Erik ten Hag and his side, another piece of drama has been added to the mix.
The Mirror have reported that Dan Cook, who was the assistant VAR to Darren England when Liverpool’s goal was controversially ruled out against Spurs back in October, will suit up again at Anfield.
The pair came under fire when they mistakenly told referee Simon Hooper that “his initial decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside was correct despite replays clearly showing the winger was in fact onside”.
The decision faced much criticism and Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, labelled the whole situation “a bit strange” in the aftermath of his side’s loss.
The German coach would also be mocked for later asking for a replay, such was his fury at the decision. Of course, no such re-match occurred.
Consequently, the refereeing body, PGMOL, immediately apologised and stated that it was “a clear and obvious factual error”. An audio of the incident was subsequently released that showed England and Cook realising they had made a mistake too late to rectify it.
As punishment, the two officials were suspended for the next round of Premier League fixtures.
Cook’s forthcoming appearance at Anfield this weekend will be the first time either official has been involved in a Liverpool match since the much-discussed event.
According to The Mirror, he and Stuart Burt will be on assistant referee duty, while Michael Oliver will be the match official. John Brooks will be the lead VAR, with Simon Long acting as his assistant and Anthony Taylor as the fourth official.
The Merseysiders are not the only team to feel wronged by VAR this season.
The Peoples Person commented last month that Manchester United fans will feel aggrieved by numerous calls such as disallowed goals, penalty decisions and red cards that VAR has got or not got involved in, as the case may be.
Moreover, there have also been recent talks that could see decision makers introduce changes to how VAR works and to put it bluntly, not many people have faith in such new ideas.
Manchester United fans will be hoping that Cook won’t let the moment get to him and feel he needs to level the score with Liverpool. With the Reds sitting top of the league and with only one defeat domestically, they do not need any more help.
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