Liverpool Survive VAR Scare Against Wolves As Lack Of Camera Angles Means Assistant Referee's Offside Call Cannot Be Disproven

Liverpool survived a late VAR scare against Wolves as a lack of camera angles meant an assistant referee's offside call was upheld without definitive proof.

Liverpool 2-2 Wolves

There was late drama at Anfield in Saturday's FA Cup game between Liverpool and Wolves.

Defender Toti Gomes thought he had given Wolves a 3-2 lead late in the second half after backheeling the ball into the net from close range.

Toti celebrated by removing his jersey and sprinting towards the corner of the pitch where he was pounced upon by his teammates.

None of them had spotted that the assistant referee's flag was raised for offside.

Toti Gomes thought he'd scored a winner for Wolves but was ruled out for offside 😅 pic.twitter.com/idbSuLlaCW

— LiveScore (@livescore) January 7, 2023

The game was then paused for several minutes as a VAR review investigated whether that offside call had been correct.

Wolves grew hopeful. From the various replays there was no evidence to prove that an offside offense had occurred.

But there was also insufficient evidence to prove that the assistant referee had been wrong to call an offside.

The assistant referee had raised his flag because he believed that Matheus Nunes was offside before his cross was blocked by Thiago into the path of Hwang Hee-chan, who teed up Toti to score.

Nunes had originally whipped in a corner kick. The ball then came off a Wolves player in the box and deflected back to Nunes. It is at this point that the offside offense is said to have occurred.

Loads of people confused about how Toti was offside, look at the corner taker appear from the bottom left.. looks like coming back from an offside position after the Wolves 11 heads it #LFC pic.twitter.com/KNhIudn1zp

— Cllm Smrvll (@Cal__Somerville) January 7, 2023

The problem the VAR had was that Nunes was not in shot in any of the available footage when the ball was played to him. He was stood somewhere offscreen, possibly near the corner flag.

Therefore, it was not possible to definitively prove whether he had been offside or onside, so the original decision stood.

The good news for Toti was that he did not receive a yellow card for removing his shirt.

However, Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui did receive a booking for his vocal complaints about the disallowed goal.

Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui pictured (center) receiving a yellow card during his team's 2-2 draw at Liverpool :: IMAGO/Sportimage/Gary Oakley

The game eventually ended 2-2, meaning a replay at Molineux will be required to decide whether it will be Liverpool or Wolves that progresses to round four.

Liverpool named a strong starting XI on Saturday, with Cody Gakpo handed his debut up front alongside Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez.

But Wolves scored first when Goncalo Guedes punished a horror error from Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker in the 26th minute.

Nunez drew the Reds level with a sublime finish just before half time.

Liverpool then took the lead on 52 minutes thanks to a goal from Salah and another moment of controversy starring Toti and the VAR.

Salah had been in an offside position when Gakpo crossed the ball towards him. But Gakpo's pass did not reach Salah directly. It was first touched, deliberately so, by Toti, meaning Salah's goal was allowed to stand.

Wolves did not fold and they were good value for Hwang Hee-chan's equalizer when it arrived in the 66th minute.

Indeed, it would not have been overly harsh on Liverpool based on the run of play had Toti's late goal stood and proved to be the winner.