Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has singled out Liverpool and Arsenal for setting a dangerous precedent with the PGMOL, which Nottingham Forest are now following.
On Sunday afternoon, reports emerged that Forest had written to PGMOL chief Howard Webb after VAR failed to overturn Ivan Toney’s equaliser for Brentford on Saturday evening. Before the free kick was taken, Toney was picked up by cameras at the ground, wiping the vanishing spray and moving it to the right to give himself a better position.
The move helped the returning striker fire the equaliser into the back of the net. Eventually, the Bees ran out 3-2 winners.
It is believed the referee told the East Midlands club’s officials that Toney’s move was not covered under VAR’s remit, and thus the decision could not be overturned. Forest is thought to be unsatisfied by this and is seeking Webb’s verdict.
Responding to the report, Neville slammed the idea of taking matters further with the PGMOL. In a tweet, he wrote: “Clubs writing to the PGMOL is embarrassing! Liverpool and Arsenal started it and set the precedent for this nonsense.”
In May 2023, The Telegraph reported the Reds had contacted PGMOL for clarity on contentious decisions that they felt cost Jurgen Klopp’s side Champions League football this season. They were unhappy that Cody Gakpo’s goal was ruled out for offside and that Tyrone Mings was not sent off for a challenge on the Dutchman during a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Fast forward to October last year, and Liverpool released a statement criticising PGMOL after VAR’s shocking performance in the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. During the match, Luis Diaz had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside.
The statement read: “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.
“We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under, but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR. It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.
“That such failings have already been categorised as’significant human error’ is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.
“This is vital for the reliability of future decision-making as it applies to all clubs, with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again. In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”
In November, Arsenal released a similar statement backing their manager Mikel Arteta after he was unhappy with a VAR call made against his team in a defeat to Newcastle United.
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