Jurgen Klopp has bemoaned referees’ “interpretation” of the offside rule after Harvey Elliott saw his goal disallowed at Turf Moor.
Liverpool moved to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 win away at Burnley, but were denied a further two goals after the intervention of VAR.
The second of those disallowed goals – coming when Elliott thought he had doubled his side’s advantage in the second half – saw Mohamed Salah deemed to be offside having been pushed into that position by Burnley defender Jordan Beyer.
Speaking after the game, the manager questioned the methods used by officials to reach their conclusions with decisions, arguing that only people who “never played football” would make such calls based on the evidence.
“Only somebody who never played football can make this an offside call,” the boss told Amazon during his post-match interview.
“It’s too many situations where we discuss after the game, where with a little bit of a football view you would clearly say ‘Oh, that’s just the other way around.’
“Why do referees create their own view on something?
“We all watch football, we need the referees but we need them with the right interpretation of the rules. How can you make this situation not a goal?”
Fortunately, the decision didn’t cost Liverpool and they were able to secure all three points in the dying moments when substitute Diogo Jota capped his return from injury with the second goal from a tight angle.
The Portuguese forward had been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the previous eight games, but was a surprise inclusion in Klopp’s matchday squad for the trip to face Vincent Kompany’s side.
It leaves the Reds at the top of the pile until at least Thursday, when Arsenal will get the chance to reclaim their spot should they beat West Ham at the Emirates.
The win concludes Liverpool’s 2023, with the visit of Newcastle on New Year’s Day coming up next as the side look to maintain their momentum and keep the pressure on those around them at the top.
