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Jurgen Klopp blasts Premier League refs as Liverpool boss admits 'I'd scrap VAR'
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp discussed the prospect of scrapping VAR in his last pre-match press conference.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp took one final jab at Premier League referees in his pre-match press conference before his last game in charge of the club. The division are set to vote on whether to scrap VAR moving forward, following Wolves' complaint, with the departing German head coach admitting that he would be in favour of outlawing the technology.
English top-flight clubs will be asked to vote on the possible abolition of VAR next season, with Wolves' proposal due to be heard at a shareholders' meeting on June 6.
The Premier League board are thought to be against that possibility, but following complaints made by clubs throughout the season and consistent controversy surrounding decisions, Klopp admitted that he would be in favour of scrapping VAR in its current form.
"I think they are voting about how VAR gets used because it is definitely not right," Klopp said. "These people are not capable of using it properly. VAR is not the problem. I would vote for scrapping VAR the way it is."
Liverpool were on the receiving end of one of the most contentious decisions since VAR's inception, when Luis Diaz's goal was wrongly disallowed for offside in the Reds' October clash with Tottenham.
VAR Darren England and assistant Dan Cook did not overrule when Diaz was flagged offside at 0-0. Liverpool ended up losing 2-1 thanks to a 96th-minute own goal from Joel Matip.
In the immediate aftermath of the match, Klopp called for the game to be replayed and his strong feelings towards VAR do not appear to have faded. “All the people involved – on-field ref, linesman, fourth official and especially now in this case VAR – they didn’t do that on purpose," Klopp said. "We shouldn’t forget that. It was an obvious mistake and I think there would have been solutions for it afterwards.
“If not, I can say immediately, and probably some people don’t want me to say it, not as the manager of Liverpool but much more as a football person, I think the only outcome should be a replay. That’s how it is. It probably will not happen. The argument against that will probably be if you open that gate then everybody will ask for it. I think the situation is that unprecedented that a replay would be the right thing.
“In this specific game, what makes it a bit more special is that we conceded two minutes after we scored a regular goal. How all things depend on each other, if the other goal would have counted we would have started in the centre of the pitch and not where it started. It would have been different. That’s my view on it.”