Reds go to refs after offside VAR call

NO DUCKING THE ISSUE FOR REDS MAN AS HE REVEALS FRUSTRATION AT DISALLOWED GOAL

- By PAUL GORST

ANDY Robertson admits the Liverpool squad were left "hugely frustrated" by the decision to disallow Virgil van Dijk's goal as the Premier League champions were beaten 3-0 at Manchester City.

The Reds went on to lose 3-0 to drop to eighth in the table, eight points behind runaway leaders Arsenal.

It is understood Liverpool do not accept the premise the decision was arrived at for subjective reasons, and reject suggestions that the view of the goalkeeper was impeded by Robertson, who ducked under the header, on the basis he was clearly not in Donnarumma's line of vision.

The wording of law 11 - which deals with offside - is in the view of the Reds criteria-based, with the club therefore insistent no elements of that criteria were met and the goal should have been allowed to stand.

The law states a player in an offside position can only become actively involved in play by: playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a teammate; preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision; challenging an opponent for the ball or clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent; or by making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.

Liverpool have scrutinised all available footage from multiple angles and are adamant the goal should have stood.

The ECHO understands they have now contacted PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Board) chief Howard Webb to express their concerns over the decision and how it was arrived at.