Vertonghen joins calls for Liverpool vs Spurs CL final to be replayed after Klopp’s VAR comments
Jan Vertonghen has joined in with calls from Tottenham supporters to replay the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp’s latest comments on the VAR controversy.
Liverpool manager Klopp has called for their match against Spurs to be replayed due to the glaring VAR error which cost them the opening goal.
The fall-out from the VAR failure in Saturday’s defeat – in which officials wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal due to a misunderstanding of the on-field decision – is still being felt.
The Premier Game Match Officials Ltd released the audio conversation between officials and the VAR after a request from Liverpool, but Klopp said that had made little difference to their thinking.
“The audio didn’t change it at all. It is an obvious mistake,” he said. “I think there should be solutions for that. I think the outcome should be a replay.
“The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented, it has not happened before.
“I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened and so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do.”
On whether the club had asked – or would ask – the Premier League for a replay formally, Klopp added:”At this stage we are still going through the information we have.”
Klopp did admit that it would be an unlikely scenario due to the precedent it would set and Tottenham supporters are already attempting to prove that on social media.
Some fans are calling for the 2019 Champions League final to be replayed, which Spurs lost 2-0 to Liverpool, after Mo Salah scored a controversial spot-kick within the opening two minutes.
A cross from Sadio Mane struck Moussa Sissoko on his chest before the ball ricocheted onto his arm and the VAR on the day awarded a penalty.
One fan wrote on X: “If the Liverpool match gets replayed it’ll set a huge precedent. See you in Madrid, Jurgen!”
To which former Tottenham defender Vertonghen – who was playing in the 2019 Champions League final – replied: “Count me in!”
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold also been talking about the VAR saga, he said: “Decisions are decisions. Sometimes they go for you and sometimes against you.
“What happened at the weekend was very disappointing and frustrating but there’s nothing we can do as players now. The game has gone. We just have to move forward.
“We can’t control VAR as players. It’s the system in place. We have to trust the officials and hope they get the decisions right as often as possible.”
