In the 11th round of the Premier League, Liverpool lost 0-3 away to Manchester City. Van Dijk scored with a header in the first half, but VAR determined that Robertson interfered with the goalkeeper in an offside position and the goal was invalid. Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher and veteran Premier League player Bothroyd expressed their views on this.
Delmot said: "This is an example of subjective judgment and there is a gray area because it all depends on how you interpret it. Everyone's opinion is different, which is why you can bring up a previous example and say, 'That's not how they decided that time'. I don't think there is a hard standard at all.
"I don't want to defend Kavanagh, but I shouldn't blame him because the decision was made by the assistant referee. It was an on-field decision that the goal was disallowed. Then VAR stepped in: Was Robertson offside? Yes; does he influence the goalkeeper? Apparently they thought so, because he was so close. That's why it's understandable that there will be mixed opinions about this game. "
When asked whether the referee should be allowed to watch the replay, Delmot said: "No, VAR is not used to judge. It will not say, 'You made this call right and that call wrong.' If VAR says, ‘You need to go and see this,’ that’s the equivalent of a new verdict. They do not think this is an obvious error. Only in the case of obvious errors or subjective offside, VAR will let the referee watch the replay.
"The penalty decision on the field was 'goal invalid', so what can be done? The video can support this. The player was indeed in an offside position and very close to the goalkeeper, so they thought he affected the goalkeeper."
Bosroyd, a former Premier League player and commentator, said: "This goal should be ruled valid. You can look at Donnarumma's movement, he moves slightly to the right and then to the left, which means he can see the direction of the ball. Robertson ducks, but it is actually Doku who is more likely to block Donnarumma's view
"The rules say 'the player makes a move', I think this refers to him moving towards the ball or trying to make contact with the ball. Robertson just ducked away, not trying to change the direction of the ball or touch it with his head, he just kept himself out of the way of the ball. That's why I think the goal should have been ruled, it was a bad call. "