"Bad one"- Gary Neville gives verdict on Liverpool's VAR controversy in Tottenham clash

Manchester United legend reflects on VAR controversy in Liverpool’s defeat to Spurs.

Sky Sports pundit and English football icon Gary Neville believes owning up to errors was important following the VAR controversy in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.

Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed for offside after a “human error” from VAR officials in a match that saw one of the Reds players sent off. Sky Sports Pundit Neville initially expressed disbelief but later took a sympathetic stance on social media.

“The VAR mistake was a really bad one. However we’ve all been demanding quicker decisions and I think they have tried to enforce speed in decision making. Speed will cause inaccuracy and it’s now about a rebalance,”

Gary Neville initially expressed disbelief but later took a sympathetic stance on the "human error" from VAR officials. — Gary Neville initially expressed disbelief but later took a sympathetic stance on the “human error” from VAR officials. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

The officials involved, Darren England and Dan Cook, were dropped from this weekend’s Premier League duties per reports. But Neville argued against overly harsh punishments.

“The two officials have been taken off their next games. Imagine how they feel this morning and let’s be human, there should be consequences for such errors but in my opinion a couple of games out is more than enough.”

Neville believes sincerely apologizing for mistakes is what matters most. The Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOL) admitted fault for the error and aims to prevent repeats. Neville feels such accountability should be commended.

“Taking responsibility and owning your mistakes is important and should be valued, ‘Sorry doesn’t mean anything’. It does. It’s an important value all our parents have tried to instil in us,”

Liverpool winger Luis Diaz is not far away from returning to action. — Liverpool winger Luis Diaz had a goal ruled out against Tottenham for offside. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

With VAR still finding consistency, Neville implies reasonable patience is required as processes evolve. But he maintains authorities swiftly conceding errors through transparency remains vital for growth.

While frustrated, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp adopted a conciliatory tone himself post-match. His reaction also reflected Neville’s emphasis on collective improvement over finger-pointing.