Premier League Breaks Down Controversial Decision to Disallow Van Dijk's Crucial Header Against Man City

Andy Robertson was deemed to be in an offside position during the sequence leading to Virgil van Dijk's cancelled equalizer against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, though the Premier League's explanation of the situation raised as many concerns as it resolved.

VAR had already stepped in to grant Manchester City a spot kick in the ninth minute of a finely balanced Premier League match at the Etihad. The match officials found themselves facing criticism once more before the break.

Erling Haaland had compensated for his earlier penalty failure to give City the lead just before Liverpool secured their initial corner kick of the match in the 38th minute. Van Dijk succeeded in escaping the tight man-to-man coverage from Rúben Dias to connect solidly with the ball, sending his header back toward its origin to completely deceive Gianluigi Donnarumma as the ball found the bottom corner.

The vocal Dutch defender ran toward the far corner flag and celebrated what he believed was the leveling goal only to have his joy cut short by the referee's whistle.

The linesman had raised his flag for offside, identifying Robertson as the guilty player. The seasoned Scottish player was positioned beyond the furthest City defender and stood approximately one yard from Donnarumma. As the Premier League's Match Centre quickly clarified, Robertson was "in an offside position and considered to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper."

The phrasing of this explanation—particularly the term, "directly in front"—sparked immediate criticism as it was understood to suggest blocking Donnarumma's sight line. Robertson, as was frequently highlighted in the immediate response, was actually positioned to the goalkeeper's left and not within his visual range when Van Dijk struck the ball.

Nevertheless, the 31-year-old defender did need to lower himself to prevent contact with the ball as it flew above his head and into the goal. Not every player standing in an offside position is automatically interfering with play. Law 11 in the FA Handbook specifies that a player can be deemed to be "in active play" by "preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball."

Though he may not be obstructing Donnarumma's view, Robertson is positioned very near to the goalkeeper as he stretches toward Van Dijk's attempt.

Reaction to Liverpool's Disallowed Goal vs. Man City

Arne Slot spun angrily on the sideline when the field decision was upheld by VAR, yelling into his winter jacket as Liverpool were refused an equalizer. His frustration wasn't eased by watching Nico González blast City into a 2–0 advantage on the verge of half-time, with his distance shot ironically deflecting off the unfortunate Van Dijk.

Several observers were dissatisfied with the referee's call, noting that Donnarumma's sight line wasn't obstructed by Robertson.