Online Reporter
SOMETIMES the video assistant referee (VAR) just cannot win, stuck in a hole between what feels right in the spirit of the game and what is correct in law.
Manchester City thought they had scored a third goal at Liverpool which would have capped off one of the most dramatic ends to an English Premier League football game this season.
But it was stripped away by a VAR review for a foul committed just before the ball rolled over the line.
Fans will hate it, pundits won’t like it, and football will turn its nose up too. Yet there really was no way the VAR, John Brooks, could not intervene.
A foul was committed that facilitated a goal being scored which might have otherwise been prevented. It is really as simple as that.
It was a unique set of circumstances right at the end of a dramatic game which gave City a 2-1 win at Anfield on Sunday night.
Here’s what happened and why . . .
With Alisson marooned upfield for a set-piece as Liverpool searched for a late equaliser, Rayan Cherki kicked the ball towards an empty net from just inside his own half.
Haaland gave chase and was clearly going to outpace Dominik Szoboszlai.
The City striker had overtaken Szoboszlai 25 yards from goal and looked certain to win the race — but he was pulled back.
It was a clear foul which referee Craig Pawson identified, but he played an advantage.
As the ball rolled towards the goal with the same two players still jostling to reach it, Liverpool’s Hungary international was about to slide in and clear it off the line.
Before Szoboszlai could do so, however, Haaland pulled him back, and that stopped the home player from keeping the ball out of the net.
The first pull on the Norway striker muddies the waters. After all, it seemed Haaland was definitely going to score. But they are two distinct situations. You have to separate the first foul by Szoboszlai and the subsequent offence from Haaland. — BBC Sport.
