Liverpool's win over RB Leipzig highlights key issue with Gary Lineker proposal to fix VAR once and for all
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Liverpool made it three wins from three in the Champions League with an impressive victory away to RB Leipzig, but it ended up being far more difficult than it needed to be due to a controversial VAR decision.
Darwin Nunez gave the Reds the lead in the first half after latching onto a header from Mohamed Salah at the back post.
Liverpool were pushing for a second with Nunez running down the left flankt into the box when he appeared to be clipped by Willi Orban.
Referee Slavko Vincic instantly waved away the appeals with VAR looking at replays of the incident.
Different angles of the challenge confirmed that Nunez got the ball ahead of Orban and the Leipzig player made contact with the Uruguayan's leg before he went down.
But commentators were left bemused when they were informed the VAR check was quickly over with Massimiliano Irrati and Jure Praprotnik agreeing with the on-field decision not to award a penalty.
Darwin Nunez was denied what appeared to be a clear penalty
GETTY
The decision not to award the visitors a penalty left Liverpool holding onto a narrow lead against a Leipzig side that have only conceded twice in the Bundesliga this season.
Arne Slot's side were eventually able to hold on to secure all three points in a hard-fought 1-0 win.
VAR has once again been under the microscope this season following a number of controversial decisions.
Stuttgart were denied a late goal against Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday evening when Deniz Undav was adjudged to have handled the ball.
Replays appears to show the ball was close to Undaz's shoulder and the striker was left bemused at the decison to disallow his goal.
The VAR's decision not to award Liverpool what appeared to be a stonewall penalty was the latest evidence that human error is the biggest issue with the current system.
Liverpool were controversially denied a goal against Tottenham back in October 2023 when Luis Diaz's goal was wrongly disallowed by the video assistant referee.
Just last month, Leicester boss Steve Cooper hit out at the 'awful human error' which gave Crystal Palace a goal in their dramatic 2-2 draw.
Many pundits and former players have tried to come up with different suggestions to help fix the ongoing issues with VAR on a weekly basis.
Lineker suggested earlier this year that the 'only way out of this mess' is to implement an appeal system.
He said: "It has to be the captain and they have got to tell you what they are appealing for. It does not mean there is a goal and you have got to find some kind of foul somewhere.
"They have to stipulate what the foul is, the captain does it, and if it is a foul then it is a foul, there is no bar.
Gary Lineker feels an appeals process would fix VAR
BBC"It is the decision that the VAR and the referee come to. Maybe one appeal a half, but it stops VAR coming into every possible corner that comes in.
"It stops all those things. You can have 20 seconds to do the appeal and it would add to the drama.
"You can get it on the screens and all that kind of stuff. It won't be where every single goal is looked at."
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Liverpool managed to hold on for a huge win
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However, Alan Shearer pointed out that 'the problem' with Lineker's suggestion is that the appeals process would still go to the same video assistant referees that made the wrong decision in the first place.
The latest human error by VAR could have proven costly for Liverpool in a tricky Champions League clash.
They got away with it on the night and kept their 100 per cent winning record, but it won't be long until a decision will have a huge impact on a team in the competition.
An appeals process like Lineker is suggesting won't change that.
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