Former referee Mark Clattenburg has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Liverpool’s winning goal against Everton, questioning the decision not to rule Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal offside. The strike secured a narrow 1-0 win for the Reds at Anfield.
The legitimacy of the goal has been debated due to Luis Diaz’s position during the lead-up to the goal. David Moyes was left fuming with the decision, as was James Tarkowski, who at the center of another controversy, with PGMOL acknowledging that he should have been sent off for his horror tackle on Alexis Mac Allister.
Clattenburg, who is remembered for his contentious officiating in a Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park back in 2007—a match that led to him being sidelined from further games there during Moyes’ initial tenure as Everton manager—shared his perspective with Everton News.
The former referee stated: “I think assistant referees, referees and VARs complicate their lives because in the past and always these decisions when they’re so close, where a defender and an attacker are so close, for me this is an easy decision just to give offside because Luis Diaz wants to play the ball.
“The defender clearly wants to stop Luis Diaz getting to the ball. He doesn’t know that Luis Diaz is in an offside position, but he wants to stop the ball going through to him.
(Image: PA)
“Because he’s then preventing Diaz getting into a goal-scoring opportunity, and when they’re that close together, you could argue again there could be an impact on the defender’s ability to play the ball.
“So there are some factors that can be covered under Law 11. I think the simple decision is, is to give offside. However, I’m sure PGMOL will hide behind that Luis Diaz is behind the defender, doesn’t make an impact, he doesn’t affect the ability to play the ball.
“And therefore will hide behind the subjective nature of this call, but for me, the simple decision is to give offside, and the one that football wants and understands is when a player, an attacking player and a defender are that close together, I believe football want that is offside.”
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Addressing the controversy on Thursday in his press conference ahead of the game against Fulham, Arne Slot said: “ As I said yesterday, I disagree with the rule because I don’t like the rule. Now, it was in a moment when Everton were playing in a low block, but most teams that are offensive want to have a high press, they want to go to the halfway line to play some players in an offside position, and then when the goalkeeper kicks it long, Virgil and Ibou go for a dual with a player that’s in an offside position.
“I always tell the linesman that it’s offside, and he always tells me that he isn’t interfering with play. So the rule was executed in the way it should, which was good for us, but I don’t like the rule.”
