Jurgen Klopp bemoaned VAR following his side’s 1-1 draw with Man United at Old Trafford today, one which saw their 100% start to this season’s Premier League come to an end.
Liverpool had to come from behind to snatch a draw away to the Red Devils today, with a late goal from Adam Lallana cancelling out a first half effort from Marcus Rashford.
The first half itself was filled with controversy, as VAR decided to not rule out Rashford’s goal despite their being a possible foul on Divock Origi in the build-up, whilst the Reds had a goal ruled out after Sadio Mane was adjudged to control the ball with his hand.
This sparked up a mass debate at half time, and full time, about whether United’s goal in the first half should’ve stood at all, with Klopp getting his two cents across after the game.
As seen in the tweet below, Klopp stated “They scored a goal that shows all the problems with VAR. Mr Atkinson, I’m sure, thinks he’ll let the game run because we have VAR. Then the VAR says ‘yeah there was contact, but you saw it differently.’ 100% I see it like this. It’s a general problem”.
Klopp post-match: They scored a goal that shows all the problems with VAR. Mr Atkinson, I'm sure, thinks he'll let the game run because we have VAR. Then the VAR says 'yeah there was contact, but you saw it differently.' 100% I see it like this. It's a general problem (w/ VAR)
— This Is Anfield (@thisisanfield) October 20, 2019
In fairness, it did seem like there was contact between Lindelof and Origi in the build-up to Rashford’s opener, however ultimately, VAR and referee Martin Atkinson decided to allow the goal anyway.
VAR has come under heavy scrutiny since it was introduced at the start of the season, something that continued today, with one of the league’s biggest and best managers even getting involved this time!