Referee SPEAKS to Spurs vs Liverpool crowd to explain decision - but fans have same problem
Referee SPEAKS to Spurs vs Liverpool crowd to explain decision - but fans have same problem
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Referee Stuart Attwell addressed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to explain the decision to disallow a Dominic Solanke goal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals against Liverpool, but Reds fans would later have a big issue with the official. In a first for English football, referee Attwell announced the decision to chalk off Solanke's strike in the 76th minute as the forward was offside. The Spurs No.19 raced onto a Dejan Kulusevski pass and slotted home, but the flag didn't go up.
However, after the incident was checked over by VAR, it was deemed that Solanke was just ahead of Liverpool's deepest defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and so therefore offside. The Carabao Cup semi-finals are being used to trial a new system which sees referees explain VAR overturns to the crowd in the stadium once the final decision is reached.
The system was in play for Arsenal's semi-final first leg against Newcastle on Tuesday night, but with no overturns needed in that clash, Attwell's intervention became a first in the English game. After the decision was reached, Attwell said over the microphone: "After a review, Dominic Solanke was in an offside position in the build-up to the goal. The final decision is offside." The decision was met with boos from the home crowd, while online many people found the novelty of hearing Attwell's voice rather bizarre.
