In the history of football, some rivalries cross borders, leagues, and even continents. The English
premier league presents one of the best derbies and match rivalries the world has ever seen.
These rivalries are Liverpool and Tottenham; the rivalry can be traced to the early 20th century.
The rivalry provides an edge-of-the-seat experience to the fans watching across the world. Both
teams started this season with high spirit, enjoying unbeaten records both home and away until
last weekend when one giant fell. Last weekend, we were treated to an unforgettable scene that
reminded us why we love this beautiful game.

The venue was set at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the atmosphere was great even before the
kick-off whistle blew. Both teams had high hopes of walking away with three points and
protecting the unbeaten record and the top-four spot. The passionate chants from both Liverpool
and Tottenham fans created a wild atmosphere. From the iconic You Will Never Walk Alone
echoed by Liverpool fans to the euphoric ‘Oh when the Spurs go marching sung by Tottenham
fans.

The game was all good until the 26th minute when the game took a bad turn when Curtis Jones
was shown a red card, and what followed was an absolute disaster. Liverpool continued bossing
the match, and Luiz Diaz scored a fantastic goal that VAR controversially disallowed. Son
Heung Min gave Tottenham the lead two minutes after the disallowed goal. Cody Gakpo
equalized in the additional minutes of halftime. The Spurs won the match by 2-1 following a late
own goal by Joel Matip. Professional Game Match Officials Limited(PGMOL). Would later
release a statement admitting that Liverpool’s goal was wrongfully disallowed as the match
officials failed to draw the offside lines. The conversation between the referee and match
officials would later be leaked, making many people question the integrity of the match officials.

Managers such as Pep Guardiola have criticized the referee’s decision and admitted that the
mistake has done more harm to Liverpool. It is a shame to see incompetency and corruption
creeping into this beautiful game. The matchday officials should be suspended and face a
thorough investigation.