Overview
- The Premier League published the full VAR audio from Manchester City vs Liverpool, capturing officials judging Andy Robertson to interfere from an offside position by ducking in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
- Howard Webb said it was "not unreasonable" to disallow Virgil van Dijk’s header, citing Law 11’s subjective "interfering with an opponent" criteria and the requirement that VAR only overturns a decision if it is clearly and obviously wrong.
- Liverpool have formally contacted PGMOL to raise significant concerns, arguing the Law 11 criteria were not met and questioning elements of the VAR process.
- Audio and transcripts show the assistant immediately flagging Robertson’s proximity and movement, with VAR Michael Oliver confirming the on-field offside decision within seconds.
- The incident occurred with City 1-0 up in a match they won 3-0, intensifying calls from managers and the LMA for procedural VAR reforms such as consistent referee–VAR pairings and improved recruitment and training.