Once again, Arne Slot spoke about how Liverpool had been ‘disadvantaged’ by refereeing decisions this season, despite their 3-0 FA Cup win over Brighton, but does the Dutchman have a point?
There was a lot to love about Liverpool’s Valentine’s Day 3-0 victory over Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round.
Curtis Jones first goal in 57 appearances set the Reds on their way to a routine victory over Fabian Hurzeler’s men to set up a fifth-round clash against Wolves.
A sensational team goal rounded off by Dominik Szoboszlai was the pick of the bunch in a night which saw a return to form for Liverpool’s Egyptian King, Mo Salah.
Rio Nghumoa nearly capped off a perfect night for the Reds before seeing his goal disallowed after a dubious offside call.
However, despite the positives, Liverpool boss Arne Slot used the post-match press conference to remind people of the Reds’ misfortune with refereeing decisions this season.
What did Slot say after the Brighton game?
The FA Cup game proved to be a blast from the past for Liverpool, with VAR not used in the competition.
It meant the Reds had the unfamiliar sensation of certainty with refereeing decisions after seeing an early Virgil Van Dijk header correctly disallowed before Ngumoa’s late strike was ruled out in an even tighter offside call.
Speaking after the game, Slot was quizzed on Ngumoa’s late goal before giving his thoughts on Liverpool’s bad luck with refereeing and VAR this season.
“That’s the only thing that was not different compared to all the other games we played – that there was a referee decision that was not in our favour,” said Slot. “That has been multiple times the situation this season.”
The Dutchman went on to reference how Marc Guehi was lucky to avoid a Red card after a ‘last man’ foul on Salah during the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.
Whilst Slot admitted that his side shouldn’t be relying on good officiating to win football matches, he did suggest that Liverpool have not had much luck with referees this season.
“I don’t follow everything, but I don’t think there’s been a lot spoken about how many times we’ve been disadvantaged by a referee decision this season,” Slot continued.
Despite the throwback, having seen Liverpool’s fourth goal controversially ruled offside, Slot admitted he would probably prefer VAR during a game.
Is Slot right about Liverpool’s bad luck with referees this season?
An incredibly difficult summer, followed by a massive overhaul of players, has left the Reds sixth in the Premier League, in a season marred by inconsistency.
There is a long list of reasons for Liverpool’s slump this season, but is Slot right to say refereeing decisions are one of them?
One way of answering that question is by looking at the number of times Liverpool have been disadvantaged by VAR errors this season.
Liverpool have had the most VAR errors against them in the Premier League
According to Squawka, Liverpool have suffered from the most VAR errors in the Premier League this season.
The Reds have been on the wrong end of VAR calls six times this season, which is the same number as rivals Manchester United.
Indeed, even when you cancel out those errors with decisions that have gone in Liverpool’s favour, there is still no other team to have benefited less from VAR errors.
The Reds have seen just three VAR errors go in their favour, which leaves them tied with Manchester United, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Everton as the team to have benefited least from VAR decisions.
| CLUB | ERRORS FOR | ERRORS AGAINST | DIFFERENCE |
| Liverpool | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| Man Utd | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| Brentford | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| Crystal Palace | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| Everton | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| Newcastle | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| Fulham | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 3 | -1 |
| Sunderland | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| West Ham | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Man City | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Tottenham | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Burnley | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Leeds | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brighton | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Chelsea | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Aston Villa | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Wolves | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Bournemouth | 4 | 0 | 4 |
2025-26 Premier League table without VAR ‘errors’
However, despite the apparent misfortune, VAR errors have had no impact on Liverpool’s disappointing title defence.
That’s because most of Liverpool’s VAR troubles have come in games which they went on to win or lose regardless.
Taking these errors into consideration, the Reds would still be sixth on 42 points in the Premier League. In fact, there is little impact on the league as a whole when considering VAR errors.
Which Liverpool games had VAR ‘errors’?
Whilst clearly, it’s not an exact science, Slot may point to the fact that some of Liverpool’s bad luck with officiating has come in game-changing moments.
The key standout examples are the 3-0 home losses to Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in November.
At the Etihad, Van Dijk’s equaliser was ruled out for offside after Andy Robertson was judged to have been interfering with the City keeper’s eyeline.
The Reds then fell foul of the rule against Forest when Murillo opened the scoring despite Alisson’s eye line being blocked by Dan Ndoye who had been standing in an offside position.
With the score level in both games, both decisions came at crucial moments for Liverpool, and with a bit of luck, who knows how those games may have finished.
Does Slot have a point?
Whilst Slot may have a point about refereeing decisions, the impact of VAR errors is evidently marginal.
Yes, some decisions have come with the Reds already down on their luck, but the thing Slot is most correct about isn’t about referees or VAR – it’s Liverpool’s poor response to them.
“We have to become so good that we don’t rely on the fact that against [Manchester] City there was not a red card for [Marc] Guehi or all the other decisions that are made this season that didn’t go in our favour”, said Slot.
Whilst they may feel right to have been aggrieved, it’s Liverpool’s response to setbacks that must improve if they are to rescue their season
