Liverpool news: Ex-Fifa official issues ‘big’ claim as Virgil van Dijk backed in major referee change
Keith Hackett wants assistant referees not to delay their flags on offside calls as Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk called for the “annoying” practice to be stopped.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Fifa and Premier League official claimed assistant referees in England are “outstanding” and delaying their flags complicates their job and may lead to serious injuries.
Van Dijk told Sky Sports after Liverpool’s EFL Cup triumph over Chelsea on penalties yesterday (27 February) he wants the practice to be scrapped for next season.
Chelsea thought they had broken the deadlock at Wembley through Romelu Lukaku in extra time only for the assistant referee to raise his flag after the ball had hit the back of the net.
“The delayed flag makes Van Dijk’s job more difficult, it is as simple as that,” Hackett told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“I know why they delay the flag, they do that in case it is the wrong call. I understand why they do it in principle.
“There is always that element of risk between forward and goalkeeper with the forward taking advantage and crashing into the goalkeeper. It’s not really happened yet, in fairness.
“The one thing we’ve got in England is some outstanding referees judging offsides. I feel for them because they’ve got a difficult remit.
“They judge something as offside but have to hold their flag, hold their concentration. Then the pressure comes when a goal is scored or the game continues. It’s a big pressure on the assistant referee.
“This is nothing to do with the laws of the game, this is operational practice.
“In England, where we’ve got a quicker game where the offsides are a big call, we’ve got some outstanding assistant referees. Bin it.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire has revealed Liverpool are set for ‘significant revenue gains’ after a sponsor announcement.