Premier League Key Match Incidents Panel Rules Van Dijk’s Goal Against Man City Should Stand

According to the ruling of the Premier League Key Match Incidents (KMI) Independent Panel, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk’s goal against Manchester City should not have been disallowed.

In last week’s high-profile Premier League clash where Manchester City claimed a comprehensive 3-0 win over Liverpool, Van Dijk headed home from a corner to level the score at 1-1 during first-half stoppage time. However, the on-field referee controversially disallowed the goal, ruling that Andrew Robertson had obstructed Gianluigi Donnarumma’s line of sight while in an offside position. The panel comprises three former players/coaches, one Premier League representative, and one representative from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) .

After reviewing the decision, the panel concluded that referee Chris Kavanagh and his assistant Stuart Burt had made an error. Nevertheless, it acknowledged that VAR’s failure to overturn the on-field call complied with protocols .

Liverpool fans were furious about the decision, pointing out that Robertson was never positioned between the ball and Donnarumma, leaving the goalkeeper’s vision completely unobstructed. Under current rules, VAR is only permitted to intervene in subjective decision-making and should not alter offside rulings—a key basis for the panel’s confirmation that VAR referee Michael Oliver (in charge of the video operation room for the match) was correct not to intervene .

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said bluntly after the game: “This was an obvious mistake. Robertson did not interfere with the goalkeeper’s potential save at all.” The club has officially contacted PGMOL to file an appeal, emphasizing that Donnarumma was unimpeded and the Scotland captain was not in the goalkeeper’s line of sight .

Slot further questioned with an example: “Immediately after the game, someone showed me a goal allowed by the same referee last season—when Man City played Wolves (Bernardo Silva was offside as John Stones scored a header). The linesman took 13 seconds to raise the offside flag that day, showing there was communication. But this disallowed goal could have been our turning point .”