Mark Clattenburg claims VAR error cost Liverpool in 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid

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Former referee Mark Clattenburg has claimed that a key error by VAR denied Liverpool a more comfortable victory in their 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid. Speaking to TBR Football, Clattenburg argued that Marcos Llorente's first-half goal for Atletico should have been disallowed due to an offside involving Antoine Griezmann.

Clattenburg explained that Griezmann was clearly in an offside position close to Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. He highlighted that for an offside call, the player must be in the goalkeeper's line of vision or affect their ability to play the ball. In this incident, although Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate was blocking part of Alisson's sight, Griezmann was close enough to impact the goalkeeper's vision. Moreover, Griezmann made a gesture to avoid the ball, which Clattenburg interpreted as influencing Alisson's ability to save the shot.

Due to these factors, Clattenburg believes VAR should have ruled out the goal as offside. He stated, "Atletico Madrid were awarded a goal just before half time and it has a suspicion of offside," adding that football fans would generally expect such a decision to be overturned by VAR. Despite Liverpool's protests, VAR allowed the goal to stand, which former officials and fans saw as a significant oversight during a high-stakes Champions League encounter.

Clattenburg, who officiated the 2016 Champions League final, criticized the VAR process in this instance, emphasizing that the technology failed to correct a clear error that influenced the momentum of the match. This controversy added further debate about the consistency and reliability of VAR in football.

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