VAR's Controversial Decision on Virgil van Dijk's Disallowed Goal vs. Man City
Virgil van Dijk appeared to have equalized for Liverpool just before half-time with a brilliant header against Manchester City. However, the goal was controversially disallowed for an offside involving Andy Robertson.
Van Dijk headed in a Mohamed Salah cross to cancel out Erling Haaland’s own goal opener. Shortly after, the linesman flagged for offside. The decision was reviewed and confirmed by VAR official Michael Oliver.
Official Explanation from the Premier League
“The referee’s call of offside and no goal to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Robertson in an offside position and deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper.”
Disputed Nature of the Offside Call
Robertson was standing close to Man City's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma but was not obstructing his view of the header—a shot Donnarumma had no chance of saving. The Scotland player moved out of any supposed line of vision the officials cited. Interestingly, Man City winger Jeremy Doku was closer to blocking the goalkeeper's vision.
This ruling denied Liverpool a crucial equalizer just before half-time, which could have boosted their confidence going into the second half.
Author's summary: The VAR decision disallowing Van Dijk's goal remains controversial due to unclear offside interpretation involving Robertson, ultimately affecting Liverpool’s momentum just before half-time.