Julen Lopetegui
A frustrated Julen Lopetegui went to see referee Andrew Madley after VAR failed to overturn a dubious offside decision which denied Wolverhampton Wanderers a famous FA Cup victory at Anfield. Toti Gomes believed he had scored the winner against Liverpool with 10 minutes remaining only to see his celebrations cut short by an offside flag. VAR reviewed the decision before deciding against overturning it. Lopetegui has since seen footage on Wolves’ ‘tactical camera’ that proves that Toti’s goal should have stood. Wolves now face a replay against Liverpool later this month in an already packed schedule.
Julen Lopetegui said: “He tried to explain it to me but it was very clear. More or less I showed him that we think this goal was valid. Today we are unlucky with the decision and unlucky because we had a lot of chances to win this match. I am a little disappointed. In one way I am proud of the players, they deserved more today. Against a fantastic team we created a lot of chances and didn’t concede a lot of chances. It was a pity because we scored a third goal. I have seen it, I have to accept, but I’m sorry it’s not offside. We can’t do anything now. We have talked with the referee. He was very polite. It was a pity because today we have VAR. I have seen replays. He was polite to hear us. They can have a mistake, I have a mistake every day.”
Lopetegui was also aggrieved by Mohamed Salah’s goal which put Liverpool 2-1 up at the beginning of the second half. Salah was in an offside position when the ball was played and he became active once Toti’s backward header fell at his feet.
Julen Lopetegui said: “This is another discussion. The rule is the same in all the leagues. It’s a special situation, but if the player was offside – and he was very clearly by one metre – when the ball comes from his teammate, he takes advantage of this position, despite the ball coming off Toti. He took advantage and the interpretation was clear. In the end the goal was valid and our goal was offside. It’s a pity to talk about this today because of my team’s performance.”
