AMAZING: Big controversy when Liverpool had their goal taken away, Man City continued to benefit "they continued to receive" From a corner kick, Van Dijk jumped high to head the ball into the net of goalkeeper Donnarumma and then ...

The referee’s denial of Van Dijk’s goal against Man City has created a heated debate. The Sun (UK) pointed out that Man City has continuously benefited from VAR.

In the 37th minute of the match between Man City and Liverpool in round 11 of the Premier League at Etihad Stadium, there was a controversial situation. From a corner kick, Van Dijk jumped high to head the ball into the net of goalkeeper Donnarumma. However, referee Chris Kavanagh denied the goal when he determined that Andy Robertson was in an offside position and involved in the situation.

Although the Scottish defender did not touch the ball, his act of bending down was deemed to have “interfered with the opponent’s ability to play the ball”. The Premier League also confirmed that Robertson had “made a clear act that affected the opponent”.

Notably, at that time, Man City were leading 1-0. If Van Dijk’s goal had been recognized, the score would have been 1-1 and the match could have gone in a different direction. The referee’s decision created a heated controversy.

Coach Arne Slot was extremely angry. He even pointed out that referee Chris Kavanagh had recognized a similar goal of Man City in the confrontation with Wolves last season. At that time, John Stones scored the decisive goal to help Man “Blue” beat Wolves, even though Bernardo Silva also had an action of bending down in front of goalkeeper Jose Sa. After reviewing VAR, the goal was still recognized.

Man City were awarded a goal in their match against Wolves last season even though Bernardo Silva was in the same position as Robertson (Photo: The Sin).

In the 2023/24 season, Man City also benefited from a similar situation. In the win over Fulham in September 2023, Nathan Ake scored while Manuel Akanji appeared to have tried to get involved despite being in an offside position. Despite Fulham’s furious response, VAR upheld the decision to award the goal.

Coach Arne Slot expressed his indignation: “It’s hard for me to say anything more. In my opinion, it was clearly the wrong decision. Robertson had absolutely no influence on the goalkeeper. Immediately after the match, someone showed me a similar situation that Man City were recognized against Wolves last year, also controlled by referee Kavanagh.

It took the linesman 13 seconds to signal offside, suggesting there had been some conversation between them. But that didn’t change anything. We played poorly in the first half and lost from set-pieces. Perhaps the scoreline reflects the performance, but what’s more concerning is the lack of consistency in such decisions.”

Nathan Ake’s goal was still recognized even though Manuel Akanji was in an offside position and had a header (Photo: The Sun).

On social media, many Liverpool fans have strongly protested against referee Kavanagh’s decision. Here are some typical comments:

“The goalkeeper Donnarumma could not reach the ball. Robertson did not block his vision. Why did the referee not allow Liverpool’s goal?”

It was ridiculous. Robertson had nothing to do with it. Donnarumma was flying all the way. It was a terrible decision.”

“The referee has created a blatant robbery with Liverpool”.

“The referee eliminated Liverpool from the championship race.”

The match ended with Man City winning 3-0 against Liverpool. After this defeat, The Kop was pushed down to 8th place in the Premier League table with 18 points, 8 points behind the leader Arsenal. Meanwhile, Man City rose to second place with 22 points.