Linesman admits the worst mistake of his career involved Liverpool, it could’ve cost them the title

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In the season of that infamous Steven Gerrard slip, Liverpool had plenty of opportunities to strengthen their position in the race for the title, but they did not always capitalise.However, sometimes it really was not their fault at all, and former linesman Derek Eaton has admitted to a huge mistake that may have been one of the reasons they never won it that year.Photo by Stu Forster/Getty ImagesLinesman regrets flagging Raheem Sterling offside vs Man CityLiverpool were top of the table heading into their 2013 Boxing Day fixture with Man City, with this game an excellent chance to extend their lead at the top.Beating a close rival too would only have given them more confidence, and their performance during the clash suggested they deserved to do just that.However, with the score still at 0-0, Raheem Sterling went through on goal to put Liverpool 1-0 up, only to be incorrectly ruled out for offside.Eaton was the linesman that day and admitted that it was one of the worst mistakes of his career, especially as Sterling was inside his own half.“For me, the one that sticks to my mind, and lots of people would have seen this on YouTube and at the time actually, was my first season as an assistant referee,” he said on the Total Football YouTube channel.“I did Man City vs Liverpool. And long story short, I flagged, I indicated Raheem Sterling offside and of course, he runs like the wind.

He’s so fast as a lot of players are.“But, you know, back then I could get to speed no problem. The issue was I misread the sort of crossover flash effect you get when two people are running in the opposite direction.“Suarez put this ball through to Raheem Sterling, it was about I don’t know maybe 10-15 metres inside the City half and he broke the you know City were playing a high defensive line.READ MORE: Florian Wirtz may be in trouble after what ‘brilliant’ Liverpool star just did for his countryHe broke the line and I was convinced he was offside.

I played it through my mind again and I said to Lee Mason, Sterling offside raise the flag. He blew and gave it.“It did leave a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth because you know that drive home from the Etihad Boxing Day evening, family at home wasn’t particularly pleasant.”Liverpool missed out on winning the league by two pointsLiverpool went on to lose that game against Man City 2-1, moving them down into fourth position.This did not halt them in their tracks, though, and they managed to fight for the title until the very end, with a late capitulation against Crystal Palace and then Chelsea ending their title hopes.Man City went on to win the league that year, doing so by just two points, ending up with a total tally of 86.Things could have been very different if that Sterling goal had counted, suggesting that VAR might not be as bad as fans make out.