While we may now be a week removed from the disastrous VAR decision during Spurs' win over Liverpool, the fallout from the mistake does not look likely to end any time soon.
The way in which the officials dealt with Luis Diaz's goal was astounding, with a mixup between the various officials resulting in the strike being given as an offside despite the images showing a very different story.
It was clear that the officials made a huge error on that occasion, something that could have longer term consequences for the way VAR is used in the Premier League.
Paul Merson clashes heads with Mike Dean over Liverpool error
PGMOL have acknowledged that the officials were clearly in the wrong on this occasion, but that has not stopped the debate in the aftermath of this fixture.
It was a topic of conversation on Sky Sports earlier today, where former referee Mike Dean said there was nothing that the officials could do once they realised a mistake had been made due to the game already being restarted.
This explanation did not go down well with Paul Merson, who soon got into a fiery exchange with the ex-official.
Paul Merson and Mike Dean clash over 'the laws of the game' 😬 pic.twitter.com/lil10ERvne
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 7, 2023
Dean: Do you get ex-players in? For me, no. If you get ex-players in, half of them don't know the laws of the game full stop, as you can tell why [Merson] just said about restarting the game for the sake of it.
Merson: For the sake of it? What do you mean for the sake of it? You're playing Liverpool vs Tottenham, one of our biggest games, and you're saying for the sake of it?
Dean: You don't know the law.
Merson: There's no law, no one is going to die, nothing is going to happen. You're all scared, like 'oh my god I'm going to get in trouble'. Stop the game! Seriously? It's typical of people who haven't played the game.
Dean: Because that's the law!
Merson: Because you know the law? You know the rules that are different?
Dean: You can'y change the law, it's as simple as.
Merson: It's not alright.
Dean: I'm staying nice and calm here because I know you can't change the law. If he wants to blow up like a bottle of pop, that's fine by me.
Mike Dean was clearly viewing this from a referee's perspective, but common sense would suggest the game should have been paused and the goal given despite what the laws of the game dictate.
All of this will be of little consolation to Liverpool and their supporters, who feel they were robbed of a potentially massive result.
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