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I'd rather Van Dijk's goal had stood - but it was not a clear and obvious error to deny him
The Guardian
|November 11, 2025
There was one big incident that grabbed the headlines and prompted conversation this weekend in the Premier League: the decision by the referee Chris Kavanagh to deny Liverpool an equalising goal in their high-stakes match against Manchester City. The decision is massively subjective, in my opinion, but not a clear and obvious error.
Arne Slot was entitled to be frustrated with the decision to deny a goal
Starting from the top: the ball is in the back of the net after Virgil van Dijk's header from a corner, and the assistant referee, Stuart Burt, flags for offside. The offside player is Andy Robertson, who is in the goal area. When the ball is headed by Van Dijk, Robertson is standing almost in front of the goalkeeper. He then shifts to his left, shifts forward and, with the ball about to strike him, he ducks out of the way and the ball ends up in the net.
The goal is disallowed on field, because the flag went up, but as we know when goals are scored they are automatically checked by VAR.
This story is from the November 11, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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