Gary Neville slams Liverpool for ’embarrassing’ precedent after new Premier League complaint
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has hit out at Liverpool and Arsenal after their complaints over refereeing decisions earlier in the season.
Liverpool has come under fire from Gary Neville for leading by example with their “nonsense” accusations about officials and VAR. Liverpool had earlier this season protested when Luis Díaz’s goal at Tottenham was not given credit.
In November, Arsenal also released a statement, and Neville has since chastised both teams for their actions in the wake of Nottingham Forest’s Saturday loss to Brentford. On Sunday afternoon, there were reports, notably one from The Guardian, that Forest had written to PGMOL chief Howard Webb complaining that VAR had not overturned Brentford’s equalizer by Ivan Toney.
Before the free kick was taken, Toney was seen on camera wiping the vanishing spray and moving it to the right to give himself a better position. This move helped him score the equalizer, leading to Brentford’s 3-2 victory. The referee reportedly told Forest officials that Toney’s move was not covered under VAR’s remit and thus the decision could not be overturned.
Forest are believed to be unsatisfied with this and are seeking Webb’s verdict. In response, Neville tweeted: “Clubs writing to the PGMOL is embarrassing! Liverpool and Arsenal started it and set the precedent of this nonsense.”
In May 2023, The Telegraph said the Reds asked PGMOL about decisions they think stopped them from getting into the Champions League. They were not happy when Cody Gakpo’s goal was not allowed and Tyrone Mings wasn’t sent off in a game that ended 1-1 at Anfield.
After Liverpool lost 2-1 to Tottenham in October of last year, they became irate with VAR. Díaz scored, but it was judged that he wasn’t onside. “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night,” the club said in a statement. Sporting integrity was compromised because it is evident that the laws of the game were not correctly applied.
“We acknowledge the demands that match officials operate under, but the introduction and use of VAR is meant to lessen rather than increase these pressures. Therefore, it is unacceptable that there was no further involvement and that insufficient time was given for the right decision to be made.
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It is particularly unacceptable that these shortcomings have already been labeled as “significant human error.” The review alone should determine all results, and it should do so in complete transparency.
This is critical for the validity of decision-making in the future because it affects all clubs and lessons are being applied to enhance procedures so that a situation like this one won’t happen again. Given the obvious need for escalation and resolution, we shall investigate our options in the interim.
Arsenal issued a statement in support of manager Mikel Arteta in November. He was angry about a VAR call that went against them in a match against Newcastle United.
