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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Matt Addison

'Idiotic' - Danny Murphy hits out after Roberto Firmino goal for Liverpool is disallowed

Liverpool might have won against Aston Villa on Saturday - but that did not stop VAR taking some of the attention away from Trent Alexander-Arnold's brilliant late winner.

Former Reds midfielder Danny Murphy has slammed the decision to chalk off Roberto Firmino's goal, which was ruled out for the most marginal of offside calls.

It would have capped off a good performance from the Brazilian, but Jota was just beyond the second-last defender by a millimetre in the build-up.

"Disallowing a Liverpool goal because Diogo Jota’s sleeve was deemed to be marginally offside in the build-up shows how badly we are using technology," Murphy wrote in The Daily Mail.

"This pursuit of perfection is idiotic. Nobody cared before technology where a striker’s armpit or shoulder was positioned.

"In football, the feet should be offside for a goal to be chalked off — nothing else matters."

Earlier today, Virgil van Dijk appeared to show his frustrations along similar lines when he liked a tweet from Gary Lineker lamenting the use of the technology.

And plenty of others have had their say on the matter over the weekend, with Manchester United's win over Tottenham also featuring some inconsistent calls.

Liverpool fans were ultimately content with the result at Anfield as they boosted their Champions League hopes but the contentious issues surrounding VAR continue to dominate the agenda.

The Reds face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals next, where they will be hoping a comeback from 3-1 down can take the headlines rather than a controversial refereeing decision.

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