What Webb actually said
Howard Webb stated that officials did not act unreasonably when they disallowed Virgil van Dijk’s header against Manchester City. He stopped short of calling the decision definitively correct but endorsed the on-field judgment and the VAR threshold applied on review.
The incident in question
Andy Robertson stood in an offside position near Gianluigi Donnarumma as the ball crossed the six-yard area. Referee Chris Kavanagh ruled that Robertson interfered with an opponent. The offside law permits penalising a player who clearly impacts an opponent’s ability to play the ball even without a touch.
Why VAR did not overturn it
Webb said Michael Oliver could intervene only for a clear and obvious error. He outlined the officials’ view that Robertson’s proximity and his movement to duck could cause hesitation for the goalkeeper. That was judged enough to affect Donnarumma’s ability to dive and make the save.
Why the Wolves example is different
Arne Slot compared the call to John Stones’ goal for City against Wolves last season with Bernardo Silva offside. Webb rejected the equivalence. Silva was behind José Sá and moved away from the flight of the ball. The ball passed over Sá’s head before Silva could impact the play, unlike Robertson who ducked beneath the ball in front of the keeper.
Liverpool response
Liverpool have written to the PGMOL to challenge the decision. Webb acknowledged that only the goalkeeper truly knows the extent of any impact, but he maintained that the officials’ conclusion was within reasonable interpretation of the law.
