Premier League Panel Delivers Shocking Verdict on Virgil van Dijk's Controversial Disallowed Goal

The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has reportedly concluded that Virgil van Dijk's chalked-off goal against Manchester City should have been allowed to stand, while also determining that VAR correctly chose not to overturn the offside decision.

Van Dijk believed he had leveled the match at 1–1 during the previous week's clash with City when his first-half header flew past Gianluigi Donnarumma, but the assistant referee's flag was quickly raised and VAR officials concluded that Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson, who was clearly positioned offside, was blocking the City goalkeeper's view.

Following their disappointing 3–0 loss, Liverpool lodged a complaint with the Premier League regarding the ruling, emphasizing that Robertson was positioned beside Donnarumma rather than directly blocking his sight line. Nevertheless, refereeing chief Howard Webb supported the decision to cancel the goal.

During their regular assessment of officiating calls, the KMI panel examined Van Dijk's disallowed header and The Times reports that they concluded it was an error by the match officials to rule out the goal.

The panel, consisting of three former players or managers, one Premier League representative and one from the PGMOL, ultimately determined that Robertson, despite being in an offside position, did not sufficiently impact Donnarumma to warrant the offside ruling.

VAR Right Not to Overrule Controversial Decision

Although Liverpool might feel somewhat vindicated by this assessment, the KMI panel also reached the verdict that VAR was correct not to step in or prompt the match officials to reverse their call.

As Webb noted in his evaluation, the matter wasn't simply about establishing whether Robertson was offside. There was no question regarding the Scotland player's position beyond City's final defender, but whether he was impeding Donnarumma remained entirely subjective.

VAR exists to correct "clear and obvious" mistakes, not to override officials' real-time judgments. Since Robertson was positioned offside and the referees felt he was actively involved in the play, VAR chose not to interfere.

Having the goal ruled out dealt a significant setback to Liverpool, who would have hoped to gain momentum from what should have been an equalizing strike, but there could be little argument about the final outcome as City's commanding display resulted in Liverpool's fifth Premier League defeat of the campaign.