Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has said “don’t blame VAR, blame the law” writing in his Daily Mail column about the offside call that ruled out Jordan Henderson’s late ‘winner’ in the Merseyside derby.
Liverpool fans are fuming after Saturday’s events at Goodison Park. Virgil van Dijk’s injury in the first half was a massive blow, with many supporters feeling Everton’s Jordan Pickford was lucky not to see a red card.
With the game evenly poised at 2-2, a brilliant move from Liverpool saw Sadio Mane receive the ball on the left side of the box. The Senegal international rolled it into Henderson, who buried it to give Liverpool what they thought was the winner.
However, VAR had other ideas. Mane was ruled offside to the surprise of many. The former Saints attacker looked level to almost everyone including Jurgen Klopp and Henderson, but the goal was ruled out to increase the anger among Liverpool supporters.
Clattenburg addressed the issue in his column, and the former Premier League official revealed VAR made the right call.
Clattenburg: ‘Sadio Mane was offside’
He wrote: “Don’t blame VAR – blame the law. Sadio Mane was ruled offside for Jordan Henderson’s goal and the Liverpool captain complained about the camera angle shown on television. He suggested officials ‘bend the lines’ to make it offside. At the risk of ruining a good conspiracy, I’m afraid that isn’t the case!
“We see a certain angle on television and that can trick you into thinking someone is onside. But the technology used by VAR is designed to draw lines that are parallel on the pitch. It triangulates a picture that, rest assured, isn’t crooked. After that, it’s about finding the players’ furthest points forward.
“Mane’s was his sleeve – as per the new rules – and that was rightly measured against an Everton foot. So the Liverpool striker was indeed offside, but this doesn’t sit right with me. Our beautiful game is about goals and we don’t want to see those ruled out by a millimetre here or there.”
VAR has been the subject of controversy since its inception last season. It has its flaws but, if Clattenburg’s words are anything to go by, the problem isn’t VAR, it’s the rules.
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