VVD WANTS VAR TO BE SORTED, ASAP

VIRGIL VAN DIJK has argued for a change in the way Premier League referees explain their decisions.

The Liverpool defender admitted to being baffled over why his knock-back which eventually led to a Cody Gakpo goal was ruled out for offside (right), with the Reds trailing.

The Premier League later said the decision – which came after a VAR review asked ref

John Brooks to go to the pitchside monitor after initially allowing the goal – was taken because Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa did not deliberately play the ball to Van Dijk.

But television replays, which VAR Nick Greenhalgh and ref Brooks viewed, clearly showed Konsa attempting to play the ball, which put Van Dijk onside.

Afterwards, when asked why it was given offside, the big Kop defender replied: “I’ve no idea – I didn’t understand what was going on at all. I asked Michael Oliver (fourth official) on the side of the pitch, and apparently it was a question of whether the Villa player deliberately knocked it back, but I have no idea.”

And Van Dijk believes the confusion surrounding some of the strange VAR decisions – there were three in this game alone – can be cleared up if refs communicate better.

He wants the voice-feeds of referees and VAR to be broadcast to explain their thinking, and he also believes that officials must be forced to explain their decisions to the media.

“I think it would be good if next season we can hear what they discuss,” added the Dutch defender. “That’s what happened in Holland, so why not over here in the Premier League?”

On Sky Sports recently, Howard Webb, chief of the Professional Game Match Officals Board, said the workings of VAR will become more transparent.