01 Oct 2023 10:24:39
We all knew what was happening on the pitch but we also knew we still uad the quality to get something from the game 9r even win it with 10 men.
The jota decision was a hugely costly one on our own making. He wasn't suited for the game and regardless of the first yellow you don't jump into the second tackle like that with such a referee.
Matips own goal could also been avoided. Robbos legs were gone at that stage down the left and gomez was our best defender on the pitch last night. He was the most switched on. He also imo shouldn't have been taken off. It's knit picking at this point.
I have to say it's very interesting witnessing well paid characters such ad carragher denounce "conspiracy theories" such as corruption last night. They'll say anything to keep their jobs safe.
Neville of all people was the only one with a mic to millions eas saying thr obvious but wording it im a way which protected him. Others? Ahh human error that mustn't happen again. Lol.

1.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 11:40:08
There is no conspiracy, just useless officials. The ref last night was the worse I have seen in many a year. And don't get me started on the VAR officials. Noticeable that they have been taken off VAR duty for the remaining games this weekend.

2.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 11:57:14
I agree, Elliott.
I might be naive but who is orchestrating the conspiracy and why? I might change my mind if there is something to back up these claims.
I think people are thinking the way they do, understandably is because it's hard to see how so many people can be so wrong.

3.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 12:01:13
Ref and VAR officials should be taken out for the rest of the season. This is probably the worst refereeing I've seen since the south Korea world cup. Red card is soft, jota first yellow is never a yellow, the offside is just to ridiculous, and the overall inconsistent refereeing makes me wonder what is going on. Premier League is by far the best league in the world, but the product is getting worse and worse with this rubbish going on. Not the first time this season they make HUGE mistakes either. Wasn't this the same guy who was ref in Manchester United vs Wolves also?

4.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 12:03:08
Absolutely disgraceful performance from the officials, that.

Premier League should demand that VAR is taken off PGMOL and handed to a competent and more importantly, independent third party.

5.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 12:42:43
You can’t just write off a conspiracy when it’s not beyond the realms of reality. In my view VAR cheated last night, regarding the goal definitely. The fact they didn’t use lines is proof enough for me. Betting syndicates and the like there is too much money involved for it to not be a possibility. I would never of believed it but if footballers can cheat why can’t officials? It’s not just us it happens weekly now. Most teams have been hurt by wrong decisions from var. it can cost clubs millions managers there jobs and players medals and relegations. If big companies banks etc used technology that failed every week they would do away with it or have it fixed heads would roll. Those in charge of the game are getting like the Tories now. giving us crap excuses for blatant failings and misuse of power with no consequences or slap on wrist to those at blame.

6.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 12:52:08
They too stupid to organise a conspiracy.

Our perhaps they’re so smart by ripping off all the other teams to make it look like they’re not being unfair to us.

7.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 13:24:48
I'm not just writing it off, John; but I need some more before it can become reality.
I do understand why people are thinking of a conspiracy though. They see it as too bad for it just to be a series of mistakes but for me it was. Unless more evidence comes to light that's my thinking.

8.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 13:43:38
Incompetence is random and affects everyone equally, but a conspiracy is directed and preferentially benefits the conspirators. Is there a resource or organization that tracks bad calls and their outcome that can be used to statistically test whether bad calls randomly benefit teams vs benefit specific teams?

9.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 13:47:15
Let's get one things straight here, Liverpool are not the only team which has or is affected by bad VAR decisions. But there is something to be said about the amount of decisions per week across the entire league.

In my mind one or two bad decisions now and then is expected, but to have people talking about several bad decisions every week is unacceptable. I can't see how that is human error, misinterpretation of the rules or anything other than there being an influence on the decisions.

10.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:00:34
Until the premier League actually says something or does something with intent they are just as culpable for all these errors.

Win, lose or draw football is just about the one thing that takes my mind off the drudgery of normal life, but when the people in charge can't even make that run smoothly, fairly or justly then it just makes me want to. makes me so mad.

How long does this have to carry on for something to give? Why do clubs not have power? Why do fans not have power? Why do we have to just keep taking this on the chin from every angle?


Does nobody at the top actually care, or is it actually, genuinely a fix? Maybe the inaction is actually the proof of corruption. It's been going on for too long now with just lip service and no corrections or anything like it.

11.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:06:41
If you want to stick your head in the sand, then endless ‘mistakes’ can be written off as mere incompetency. If that is the case, how do you explain the referee being shown the still of Jones appearing to crunch a players leg when he walks to the monitor? That isn’t incompetency, that is the deliberate selection of a particular still image to make the offence look as bad as possible. They could have shown him the full clip in real time, but chose not to. That is not a lapse in judgement, that is a conscious choice.

It’s about time there was an open conversation about transparency and the checks and balances made on referees. How do we know that they aren’t being bribed, or committing betting offences? Is there a protocol in place? If so, I’ve never heard about it. Clubs across Europe are being investigated and fined for this sort of tampering, which if you’d told me a few years ago I would have written off as unthinkable. How do we know for sure it isn’t endemic within our own game?

12.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:16:34
Blaming conspiracy is insane
Refs are human and make mistakes, that's just the simple truth. This isn't some concerted effort to cheat, just a sad fact that prem reffing is some of the worst in the top leagues. If you were going to cheat you wouldn't be giving the clear and obvious ones as errors, as guess what everyone guesses . conspiracy.
WE are far from the only team to be harmed, and have benefitted from errors in the past.

13.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:19:29
A look forward to ref watch on sky tomorrow morning with dermott Gallagher let's see how he defends the officials this time joyas 1st yellow was the spurs player kicking his own leg and too be fair on a yellow correct or not jota should not have dived in as he did . a felt for big Joel yesterday but spurs won't even finish top 4 this season as they couldn't reak down 9 mine a liked Allison's reaction after the goal went to console big Joel as I've said in the past when refers get to that level they are practically bullet proof Howard webbs apology is as much use as harry Mcguire is a centre back those decisions could knock a team out the cup or even relegate a team so whayuse is an apology get rid of Howard Webb see if Collins a is available.

14.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:25:46
@Rigsby. How can you make a mistake when you are using technology to rule out the mistakes? It’s not just random accidents it’s consistent. ( VAR cockups)

15.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:37:35
Whilst I do agree Rigsby to an extent in the fact more factual information is needed, I would not be surprised if the EPL got embroiled in a fixing scandal in the not too distant future.
We only need to look at the examples in Italy and more recently Spain with Barca. Also, you only need to look at Tottenham's owner Joe Lewis to see how close to home corruption is.
Where there is wealth, there is usually nefarious activities too.

16.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 14:54:00
You can tell who watched the game, and those who have just watched the offside clip.

17.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 15:26:38
Which incident, John?
I've no arguments about the two reds although I thought Jones's was a yellow at the time.

The offside is inexcusable but a series of mistakes. If the linesman, VAR and assistant VAR were all cheating then I can't dismiss but I need more before I can agree.

I'd also add the challenge on Gomez to the list of mistakes from the game.

Lfc8, I watched all the game and like Klopp I don't think the officials cheated. I just think they were useless.

18.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 15:56:19
I think the implementation is a major part of the problem - it’s not clear who has ultimate accountability and what constitutes a ‘clear and obvious error’ so VAR is terrified to overrule on some occasions (eg Man Utd penalty), and far too keen on others (Curtis) …. leaving everyone confused and trust in the system at all all time low.

Why not leave offside calls to VAR (I think the mistake in the last game was a genuine anomaly) and then for all on pitch decisions let the referee manage the game, and both teams get three chances to call a review if they really feel the decision is wrong.

At that point the referee has to go to the monitor, review everything in real time only, and from all available angles, then decide whether to change their mind or not.

If they did this then the ref lives and dies by their own decisions, without influence or bias (and let’s be clear, sending the ref to the monitor with a freeze frame of the worst shot of the tackle was establishing a clear message), and the buck stops with one man only.

Wrong decisions may still happen, but at least it’ll be clear how and why, and every team has the option to appeal anything they disagree with.

19.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 16:30:51
Agreed Rigsby ?.

20.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 17:42:03
Fair enough, no 'conspiracy' then what is it?

Whilst this match was by far the worst, given the sheer number of idiotic calls, nonetheless these type of errors happen to every single team, well apart from City lol, every single week - the question is surely why?

And that why question is two-fold:
1. If it is simply errors being made we could accept that once in a while but not at the level we have seen so the question of why is simple - why is there such a level of incompetence with our officials? Do they not understand the rules of the game antmore? Because calls differ from one week to the next do they not know rules are rules and thus should be equally applicable and enforced in each game?

2. This is the one that really annoys me. Given the clear issues every week, why is nothing done by the PGMOL? I mean what, their response is an apology and to stand down those officials a week? Did that solution work the last time? The time before that or that etc? How can people in charge not actually take charge and tackle an issue is just bewildering to me - all we see is they all have each others backs and cover for mistake after mistake - it's ridiculous

The issue is not VAR itself but the people involved. Until there is a stop to this institutional cover ups then the game will simply be ruined.

{Ed002's Note - it is not a cover up, corruption or a conspiracy against Liverpool.}

21.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 18:11:54
It’s ineptitude and a the execution of a number of processes that are either not fit for purpose or that are being executed in an ad-how basis by various individuals. The technology is available but is not being used properly by those given responsibility for its use. Simple answer is to withdraw it’s use until such times as the way it is used and the people charged with using it are at a consistent level of expertise to use it properly and that it’s reinstatement is approved specifically by the clubs (yeah like that’s going to happen eh? )

22.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 18:57:05
City got a goal disallowed by VAR that would have taken them into a CL semi final.
We got a penalty after twenty odd seconds into a CL final against Spurs. It was confirmed by VAR, I think.

23.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 19:08:57
Rigsby, bith were correct decisions. Your point, then is?

24.) 01 Oct 2023
01 Oct 2023 21:30:27
Oli, the decisions went against them. My point being that they get VAR decisions against them.
The problem yesterday was that the decision being checked was wrong.