It is “impossible,” according to Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Julen Lopetegui, that his team had a winning goal disallowed in their FA Cup third-round matchup with Liverpool at Anfield.
Centre-back Toti flicked the ball in, but Matheus Nunes, who had taken the first corner and received the ball on the left after Hwang Hee-chan pushed it out to the flank, had his offside flag raised against him by the assistant referee.
Wolves were forced to accept a 2-2 draw because the video assistant referee (VAR) lacked any camera angles to offer evidence to reverse the judgement.
After the game, Lopetegui and captain Ruben Neves entered referee Andrew Madley’s office where he claimed the offside “doesn’t exist” and that it was a “shame” since his team “deserved to pass to the next round.”
In addition, he was upset that Mohamed Salah’s goal, which gave Liverpool a 2-1 lead, was upheld despite the Egyptian forward appearing to be offside when the ball was given to him in the build-up.
What truly took place?
Nunes took a corner that was headed by Nathan Collins, touched by Hwang back to Nunes on the left wing, and then Wolves’ goal was disallowed.
He ran to the byline, where his cross was diverted to Hwang, whose shot Toti deflected in to give Wolves a 3-2 lead after they had fallen behind 1-0.
Toti removed his shirt during the frenzied celebration by the Wolves players, but the assistant had his flag raised.
After reviewing the incident, the VAR couldn’t reverse the decision since there wasn’t a clear camera perspective.
We have watched it, the offside doesn’t exist, I’m sorry, Lopetegui said ITV. It’s not feasible.
“Someone said it was offside, but we’ve seen the pictures, and it’s not there.
“The choice was incorrect. Every day I make mistakes, and occasionally they do too. We have VAR assistance today, which is unfortunate since it’s not offside.
“I’m not sure about their third goal,” remarked Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool. We only have one image where it might appear off-side, but I can see why they are upset about it. The VAR shouldn’t only have one angle, per se.
The Football Association, which administers the FA Cup, follows Uefa and Fifa advice and does not do this, which led to confusion in the audience and among pundits. In the Premier League, an explanation such as “Nunes offside” would be put on the screen in the stadium.
Emile Heskey, a former Liverpool striker, said on ITV that he and the audience “sat in the studio trying to figure out, so are the crowd and the bench.”
Eni Aluko, a former England striker, added, “Show modern stadiums on the screen. There needs to be clarity.
Nunes was in an offside position, but it wasn’t immediately obvious. The choice has been made now, but it has to be more explicit.
