Manchester City fully deserved their 3–0 victory over Liverpool on Sunday, but a major talking point was the disallowed first-half goal from Virgil van Dijk. The defender headed into the net in the 38th minute, believing he had equalised, yet the goal was ruled out after VAR determined that Andy Robertson—standing in an offside position—blocked goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s view.
Arne Slot and Liverpool were baffled by the decision, adding to a growing list of controversial VAR calls this season. During Sky Sports’ Match Officials Mic’d Up, audio from VAR Michael Oliver and his team at Stockley Park was released, revealing their reasoning:
The AVAR stated that Robertson was directly in the goalkeeper’s line of sight and made a movement by ducking under the ball.
Oliver checked angles and confirmed Robertson was offside and affecting Donnarumma’s ability to react.
Referee Chris Kavanagh was then advised to stick with the on-field call.
Liverpool have reportedly contacted the PGMOL raising “serious concerns” over the decision.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb later reviewed the incident, explaining that offside calls involving interference—without touching the ball—are highly subjective. He said Robertson’s ducking motion, while being only a few yards from Donnarumma, could reasonably be judged as obstructing the goalkeeper:
> “Only Donnarumma knows if he was impacted, but the VAR’s role is to overturn only if the decision is clearly wrong. In this case, it wasn’t.”
Despite the controversy, City went on to win with goals from Erling Haaland, Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku. Slot insisted it was the wrong decision and believes the goal could have changed the momentum for Liverpool, who now sit eighth in the Premier League after a difficult start to their title defence.
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