Referee Jon Moss was “misguided” to ask the fourth official for help using television when awarding Tottenham’s first penalty at Liverpool on Sunday, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) says. Moss made the request to Martin Atkinson via his headset after Harry Kane had been brought down by Reds keeper Loris Karius – with the referee trying to clarify if the Spurs striker was offside. Video assistant referee (VAR) was not in operation at Anfield.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Atkinson did not view a television monitor and did not relay any information to the on-field officials,” PGMOL said in a statement. PGMOL said Moss was right to give the spot-kick – which was missed – and was correct in recognising that Kane was not offside because Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren had deliberately played the ball in the run-up to the incident. After initially awarding the penalty, Moss spoke with assistant referee Eddie Smart to clarify if Kane had been offside. Moss was seen on camera asking Atkinson if there was “anything from TV” showing if Lovren had touched the ball, before sticking to his decision without receiving a response.
Kane’s effort was saved by Karius, though the England forward made no mistake when Tottenham were given a second penalty – also awarded after consultation with Smart – in the dying seconds of the game to score his 100th Premier League goal and secure a 2-2 draw. “Jon Moss was in a good position to see that a Liverpool player deliberately played the ball before it fell to Harry Kane in the penalty area. He then correctly judged that Kane was fouled by Loris Karius,” the statement said. “However, given the speed of the attack he was uncertain of the identity of the Liverpool player who kicked the ball. “Eddie Smart, having identified that Kane was in an offside position, correctly sought clarification on whether Dejan Lovren had deliberately played the ball. “In real time this was a difficult series of decisions which the match officials judged correctly.”
