The last few days surrounding the wild Liverpool-Tottenham match has brought the faults of the VAR system to the world. The club has taken every action possible and most recently, Jurgen Klopp demanded the match be replayed. What has been lost amongst this media blitz is the players and what their psyche is.
Various players have come out and voiced their displeasure with the whole situation. However, this story has absolutely dominated the headlines that it might be hard to stay on task everyday.
The calendar is not stopping and the fixtures will keep coming as the Reds play their second Europa League group match on Thursday against Union Saint-Gilloise.
There are a plethora of veterans up and down the Liverpool squad so you would imagine they should be able to keep things on track enough to take down the Belgian club.
Yet, this is getting close to unrivaled territory. Typically, when a call is blown in a match there is a day or two of bemoaning it before the football world moves on. This situation does not seem to be going away anytime soon.
When the club’s manager begins calling for a match to be replayed that kind of attitude could permeate throughout the club down to its players.
It doesn’t matter how much experience you have as a player when the world is constantly in your face about a specific event and the talk is no longer about the football on the pitch.
These players are only human after all and can take only so much. Liverpool’s willingness to fight for justice is admirable but if it comes at the cost of taking away from their on-field performances going forward, questions must be asked.
I don’t think the Reds will fall tomorrow against Union, however I would not be shocked to see a sluggish start from the lads after the emotional rollercoaster they have been on.
It’s such a long season full of highs and lows that the players cannot afford to linger on one of the lowest of lows too long.
Let the higher ups at the club handle the bureaucratic headache of finding a resolution for the VAR mess. The players just need to keep their eyes on the prize and working on their craft.
If they do that, they have all the ability in the world to change the narrative back to their on-field exploits. Let’s hope the players and coaches understand this and get locked in on the task at hand.
There will be no replays needed if they do.