Liverpool contact PGMOL over disallowed Virgil van Dijk goal as significant concerns raised

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Liverpool Echo IconSportFootballLiverpool FCVirgil van Dijk saw his goal against Manchester City chalked off for an offside against Andy RobertsonLiverpool have contacted refereeing body PGMOL to raise significant concerns about Virgil van Dijk's disallowed goal at Manchester City on Sunday. Van Dijk saw a header from a Mohamed Salah corner chalked off when VAR Michael Oliver deemed Andy Robertson to have been stood in an offside position in front of City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.The strike would have drawn Liverpool level at 1-1 shortly before half-time of the Premier League meeting between the last two champions.

The Reds went on to lose 3-0 to drop to eighth in the table, eight points behind runaway leaders Arsenal.It is understood Liverpool do not accept the premise the decision was arrived at for subjective reasons, and reject suggestions that the view of the goalkeeper was impeded by Robertson, who ducked under the header, on the basis he was clearly not in Donnarumma's line of vision.READ MORE: Bernardo Silva sparks angry Liverpool reaction as Man City make Hugo Ekitike blunderREAD MORE: National media react to 'wretched' Liverpool defeat at Man City - 'Why is anybody surprised'The wording of law 11 - which deals with offside - is in the view of the Reds criteria-based, with the club therefore insistent no elements of that criteria were met and the goal should have been allowed to stand.The law states a player in an offside position can only become actively involved in play by: playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate; preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision; challenging an opponent for the ball or clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent; or by making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.Liverpool have scrutinised all available footage from multiple angles and are adamant the goal should have stood.The ECHO understands they have now contacted PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Board) chief Howard Webb to express their concerns over the decision and how it was arrived at.Liverpool accept that while such calls are rarely straightforward, they have questioned how the outcome was reached given the checks and balances that are central to the VAR process and are strengthened by all available angles and audio.It isn't the first time Liverpool have been involved in a controversial VAR call. In September 2023 the PGMOL admitted to a "significant human error" when a goal from Luis Diaz failed to be acknowledged by referee Simon Hooper despite being awarded by VAR following a check for offside.

The Reds eventually lost 2-1.