Jamie Carragher questioned VAR technology after Florian Wirtz’s goal was disallowed in Sunday’s dramatic 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Fulham.
Jamie Carragher says he was shocked that Florian Wirtz’s goal in Liverpool’s match against Fulham was ruled out by VAR. Wirts appeared to be offside when he found the back of the net at Craven Cottage to make it 1-1, but a lengthy VAR check overturned the on-field decision.
Conor Bradley burst into the penalty area and found Wirtz, who curled in Bernd Leno with a cool finish. The German player didn’t celebrate much and was immediately flagged for offside by the linesman.
However, after a lengthy VAR check, Stockley Park overturned the original decision and allowed the goal. Premier League Match Center said: “VAR checked the referee’s no-goal decision and confirmed that Wirtz was in an onside position and recommended that the goal be conceded.”
The goal reversed a similar decision in Fulham’s favor when VAR intervened and allowed the goal after Harry Wilson’s shot was initially ruled out for offside. Liverpool then took a 2-1 lead through Cody Gakpo’s back-post finish, but Harrison Reid’s long-range rocket in the 97th minute ended the game 2-2.
read more: Premier League, Fulham vs Liverpool officials explain the problem caused by overturning VAR twiceread more: Premier League announces new perspective after VAR intervention forced in Fulham vs Liverpool
After the full-time whistle, former Liverpool defender Carragher believed Wirtz had been offside and questioned the accuracy of VAR technology.
“To me it looks like he’s offside. He looks like he’s further forward,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “I know angles can be deceiving, but given the fact that we got the penalty spot, I can’t believe it was given to us.”
Former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer agreed with Carragher, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “If you watch the replay of the Liverpool goal, every frame that stopped in goal looks offside. It’s bizarre.”
Let us know what you think. What do you think about the offside call? Comment below.
Fulham manager Marco Silva said of Wirtz’s goal: “It was a moment when we lost the ball.” “We made a lot of connections and we have to be more careful with the position of our midfielders. It looked obvious offside, but the line gave us the goal. It took us a little while to react.”
And Wirtz himself was surprised to score his second goal for Liverpool. “I didn’t celebrate because I was sure it was offside. I was happy to score, but I wanted to get the three points more than that,” he said after the match.
As for Reid’s thunderbolt, he added: “I have nothing to say. It was unbelievable. You can’t save that ball. Usually it doesn’t go in like that. The previous move could have been better, but I don’t know. It was from a throw-in, so we have to do better.”
“Again, we are in a difficult situation because we have drawn twice. That is not what we want, we want more. We have to get better, but it is still a process.”
Gakpo was booked for removing his shirt after converting Jeremy Frimpong’s cross in the 94th minute. “Yes, that’s right, I thought (his goal was the winner),” he told Match of the Day.
“The moment I sat on the bench they scored, which is unfortunate for us. We fought very hard in the second half, we had the upper hand at one point and tried to create chances to break through. In the end I scored in the 95th minute and they scored in the 97th minute. To be fair, it was a great goal. Unlucky, unlucky.”
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