Liverpool officials were the first ones to let Simon Hooper know of his mistake to disallow Luis Diaz’s goal vs Tottenham Hotspur.

The on-field officials and their colleagues in the VAR room conspired to serve up an enormous mix-up, which contributed to Diaz’s first-half goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium already living in infamy.

It has made front-page news in the days following the occurrence. It was also a hot topic because Sky Sports broadcast the Fulham vs. Chelsea game yesterday night.

A wonderful little tidbit of knowledge was also contributed by host Dave Jones, who was joined by Jamie Carragher, who provided some insightful commentary.

“It is our understanding that the on field officials were not made aware of the decision until half-time,” he said. “So they didn’t know there was anything wrong until the interval and I think it might have been Liverpool officials who made them aware of it to start with.”

Hooper in the dark until half-time

This is crucial to note since there have been rumors in the days after Saturday that referee Hooper was informed that the mistaken judgment had been made shortly after Diaz’s goal had been disallowed.

VAR protocols appear to have meant that it was already too late to reverse the decision at that moment.

Hooper, though, still had the ability to take action if he had known.

If that was the case, the referee should undoubtedly share in the blame. No matter what the protocol, he should be held liable if he was aware of what had occurred and did nothing to stop it.

However, it is obvious that the VAR officials are primarily to blame. They should have given Hooper advice on how to proceed as they would have realized almost immediately that an enormous error had been made.

If they didn’t, as is recommended, then their incompetence would simply increase.

It shouldn’t be up to the team making the incorrect choice to inform the officiating team of what their teammates have previously observed. Liverpool is entirely within their rights to fight this as hard as they can.