History was made during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final between Tottenham and Liverpool when referee Stuart Attwell announced a video assistant referee (VAR) decision inside the stadium.
This marked the first time such an announcement had been made in England, with Attwell providing an explanation for why Dominic Solanke’s late goal for Spurs was disallowed.
“After a review, Dominic Solanke was in an offside position,” he said over the PA system.
Despite that, Spurs did score through Lucas Bergvall in the 86th minute to win the first-leg tie 1-0.
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou was not enthused by the decision to make the announcement, telling Sky Sports: “If people think that announcement added anything to the game tonight then I am sorry…
“It used to be you put your flag up and the game goes on, but anyway.”
The decision to make such announcements is part of a trial being conducted for all League Cup semi-finals.
Under this trial, referees will announce final decisions after reviewing the VAR pitchside monitor or when rulings are made on factual matters, such as accidental handball by a goalscorer or offside offences where the attacker touches the ball.
These types of announcements are common in other sports like rugby union and American football, and the system was also trialed during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The Premier League confirmed in a meeting last summer that in-game VAR announcements would be implemented at some point this season.