‘Referees make mistakes’: Pierre Gasly compares Liverpool VAR farce to Abu Dhabi controversy

The uproar caused by Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal against Tottenham gave Gasly flashbacks to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly admits the VAR farce surrounding Liverpool’s disallowed goal against Tottenham made him think of Abu Dhabi and the controversial end to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

Luis Diaz’s goal was ruled out for offside in Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday, despite replays showing the forward to be onside.

The audio of the conversation between the VAR which resulted in the mistake was released on Tuesday, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp then calling for the match to be replayed.

Gasly, a PSG fan, could not resist having his own verdict on the matter and believed the situation is comparable to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when Lewis Hamilton was cruelly denied an eighth world title in his battle with Max Verstappen after a controversial – and ultimately wrong – ruling by then race director Michael Masi to swing the race in Verstappen’s favour.

“The Liverpool [situation] was a bit of a surprise and definitely a talking point of the weekend,” Gasly said, ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix..

“We had a conversation last night and there were comments made about Abu Dhabi 2021.

“It’s sport – referees also make mistakes. It’s tough to swallow when you’re on the wrong side of it. But it’s sport, even though it shouldn’t happen sometimes, it does.”

Masi was later sacked as the race director following a review into the controversial ending to the 2021 season, when Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the final race to win his first world title.

Pierre Gasly has compared Liverpool’s VAR farce to the 2021 Abu Dhabi controversy (Getty Images)

As for Liverpool, despite Klopp’s unprecedented stance the Premier League insist a replay of the match will not happen.

“Something like this never happened, so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do,” Klopp said. “The audio didn’t change it at all. It is an obvious mistake. There should be solutions for that. The outcome should be a replay. But it probably won’t happen.

“The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened.”

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.”