VAR is the bane of many football fans’ existences, but Liverpool supporters may well have been wishing it was in effect at Anfield on Saturday night.
There were plenty of positives to enjoy from the 3-0 victory over Brighton as Kopites were treated to some delightful goals and a clean sheet as our passage to the fifth round of the FA Cup was effectively booked with a quarter of the match still to play.
Such was the Reds’ comfort in the closing stages that Arne Slot took the opportunity to bring on two teenagers in Rio Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni, along with handing a rare senior appearance to Calvin Ramsay.
Ngumoha has fair goal disallowed, and VAR wasn’t in use to overturn it
With 10 minutes of normal time remaining, a swift Liverpool counterattack saw Cody Gakpo pick out the 17-year-old winger on the left flank, and the youngster bore down on goal before firing past Jason Steele.
Unfortunately, he was denied his dream moment in front of the Kop as the offside flag had gone up, and with VAR not in effect at this stage of the FA Cup, there was no opportunity for the decision to be reviewed.
TV replays showed that Ngumoha was actually onside as the ball was played to him – the goal should’ve stood and the on-field call would almost certainly have been overturned if the video assistance was in effect (see screeenshot below from @sbzcomps on X).
Ngumoha’s goal would’ve stood had VAR been in use
In the greater context, the disallowed goal didn’t really matter to Liverpool, who were 3-0 up at that stage and marching serenely into the next round of the tournament.
However, it’s wrong that the 17-year-old should be denied a goal in front of the Kop because of an erroneous decision by the assistant referee, and the lack of VAR to correct that mistake.
Many football fans and pundits seem to enjoy the absence of the technology prior to the FA Cup fifth round, and there’s no denying that its usage in English football over the past few years has often been infuriating.
On this occasion, though, it would’ve ensured that a fair goal for Ngumoha would’ve counted and he’d have had a moment to cherish at Anfield, to go along with his fairytale winner away to Newcastle last August.
At least the teenage starlet is set to have plenty of opportunities in the future to score at the Kop end and tick that landmark accomplishment off the list. It’s a shame that it didn’t happen on Saturday night, but it seems to be a matter of when and not if it comes for him.
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from The Empire of The Kop
