Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders calls for VAR improvements and says teams getting punished for refereeing errors
"If we make big mistakes, Jurgen and myself get punished; if players make big mistakes, they get punished; but if referees make big mistakes, usually teams or players get punished and that is not correct," says Liverpool assistant manager Lijnders
Tuesday 21 December 2021 18:18, UK
Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has called for improvements to the way VAR operates and suggested the same team of officials should be used throughout the season for better consistency.
Liverpool were denied a penalty and saw Harry Kane avoid a red card for his tackle on Andrew Robertson in their 2-2 draw at Tottenham on Sunday after VAR official Chris Kavanagh opted not to refer Paul Tierney's original decisions back to him for a second look.
After the final whistle, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was heard saying to Tierney: "I have no problems with referees - only you."
"Everyone makes mistakes," said Lijnders. "If we make big mistakes, Jurgen and myself get punished; if players make big mistakes, they get punished; but if referees make big mistakes, usually teams or players get punished and that is not correct.
"What I still don't understand is why the VAR is always a separate [different] person and not part of the team because in that split-second, the guy who helps the referee on the pitch needs to know the referee with everything he has.
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"They need to be a team because together they are responsible. If there are always changes, it will not work.
"It would be the same if Jurgen had a different assistant manager every weekend."
Lijnders also believes the Premier League should be making the health of players a priority over fulfilling fixtures.
The Dutchman said the country had lurched from one health crisis to another because all authorities, from the Government down, were guilty of always acting too late.
On Monday, top-flight clubs decided against any suspension of the season or even calling off fixtures planned between December 28 and 30 to provide a mini circuit-break.
"For me, the experts are not the managers, they are the scientists and the doctors and we should follow their guidelines," said Lijnders.
"The Premier League should ask them, not the CEOs, not the managers, because health always comes position number one above everything.
"We are in this job to protect our players and our staff and also the family members and that is why we have all these good measures in place and try to cut the chain [of transmission] with our testing and how we deal with things inside the AXA [training ground]."
Klopp won't face action for ref comments
Jurgen Klopp will face no further action for his post-match comments towards referee Paul Tierney following Liverpool's 2-2 draw at Tottenham.
The Football Association reviewed the Liverpool manager's comments and will take no further action.
The Liverpool manager had been shown a yellow card by referee Tierney in the first half for his reaction to a studs-up challenge from Harry Kane on Andy Robertson.
Live Renault Super Sunday
In a pulsating match on Super Sunday, Robertson went on to put Liverpool 2-1 up in the second half, but just three minutes after Heung-Min Son's equaliser, he saw red for kicking through Emerson Royal.
Klopp was left puzzled by the lack of VAR intervention, and went over to speak to Tierney after the full-time whistle.
"I have no problems with referees - only you," Klopp was overheard saying to Tierney after the game.
The German later told Sky Sports: "There were obviously many other things that were influential in this game, but some of these questions are better to ask Mr Tierney."
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