Virgil van Dijk thought he had opened the scoring for Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final only for his header to be controversially ruled out.
The Dutch defender got on the end of Andy Robertson’s free-kick delivery ahead of his marker, Ben Chilwell, to head past Djordje Petrovic and send the red side of Wembley into delirium.
However, after a lengthy celebration, it emerged that the goal was being checked by the video assistant referee for a possible offside – not against Van Dijk, but against Wataru Endo.
And after checking the pitch-side monitor, on-field referee Chris Cavanagh disallowed the goal, deeming Endo to have interfered with play from an offside position by blocking Chelsea defender Levi Colwill from challenging for the ball from Robertson’s delivery.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“The end of football as we’ve always known it”
Unsurprisingly, the decision proved controversial with football fans on social media, with the majority seeming to think the goal should have stood.
Journalist Mike Parry wrote: “I think ruling this Van Dijk goal off is the end of football as we’ve always known it .. A perfect attacking move and thumping header but cancelled out because of a millimetre or a slight bit of rough and tumble between two footballers .. It’s pathetic .. God save our game.”
Virgil van Dijk think he's scored for Liverpool but a VAR check shows Endo is in an offside position and the goal is RULED OUT ❌ pic.twitter.com/bzInrAxSeD
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 25, 2024
A Liverpool fan wrote: “That happens in every single set piece ever. It wouldn’t have impacted the goal or Van Dijk scoring it at all. What’s the point?” while another X user said: “That is an absolute joke of a decision. What even is the point in VAR man that happens every week in football and he isn’t even the one marking van dijk – tragic.”