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Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have given their take on a contentious decision during Liverpool's 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
Virgil van Dijk believed he had equalized just before the break at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with a powerful header. However, Andy Robertson was judged to be offside when he met Mohamed Salah's corner-kick, heading the ball into the top corner, leading to the assistant referee flagging for offside.
The incident was scrutinized by Michael Oliver and his assistant, Timothy Wood, at Stockley Park, who determined that the Liverpool full-back was interfering with play. The Premier League Match Centre released an official statement on X, stating that Robertson made an "obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper."
Lineker and Richards considered the decision "harsh," but they contended that the disallowed goal wouldn't have changed the final outcome of the match.
Speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast, the former Match of the Day host commented: "I wonder if it would have made a difference at all.
"I suspect not, but we'll never know because it's hypothetical if the Virgil van Dijk goal had been given because that would have made it 1-1, wouldn't it? I think, I mean, it was a bit of a harsh one.
"I mean, yes, he was in an offside position and yes, he ducked out the way, but I don't think he affected the goalkeeper at all. There was one angle in particular you thought actually he's not in his line of sight.
"I mean, he might be in his line of sight – it was one of those. I was surprised that they turned that over. I thought it was a harsh one on Liverpool, and Liverpool fans will obviously turn to that."
The former Manchester City defender added: "Yeah, totally agree. I think at the time, what was it? One-nil, that would have made it one-all. I don't like it, and I agree with you, Gary.
"I think it's really, really harsh, and the referees have got a decision to make there. He does make a difference because he ducks out of the way, so the goalkeeper is always adapting to what's in front of him.
"But I don't think he would have got there anyway. So I think it's particularly harsh. And that could have been the difference in the game. But, you know, Man City were the better team anyway.
"So if Liverpool has scored, I then would have backed Man City to score, to score more goals in the game anyway."
Discussing the offside regulations, Richards advocated for change. The Sky Sports pundit continued: "It's too complicated. Just simplify, if you're in an offside position, it's offside, it gets rid of all the debate, doesn't it?
"But yeah, I do feel for Liverpool on that particular decision because it was, yeah, he wasn't going to get the ball, Donnarumma, so I understand."
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