Replay Spurs vs Liverpool? Let’s replay 2005 Champions League final for Gerrard’s dive as well

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 4 Oct 2023 15:03 BST
• 6 min read

“I think the outcome should be a replay, that probably won't happen. The argument against [a replay] is that everyone will ask for them, but this situation is so unprecedented."

These were the ridiculous words of Jurgen Klopp on Wednesday as the Liverpool manager called for Saturday’s controversial Premier League game against Tottenham to be replayed.

Everyone reading this article will already know the story by now - Liverpool haven’t stopped moaning about it for a second - so there is no need to regurgitate the events of the last four days.

READ MORE: PGMOL release VAR audio for disallowed Luis Diaz goal vs Tottenham

All there is to say is that if Liverpool against Tottenham should be replayed, then there is a whole library of other scandalous matches from the past that should be replayed first.

Let’s start with football’s biggest competition, the World Cup - and knockout games where unlike 38-game league seasons you don’t get a second chance at recovering. If you are shafted by a referee call, your dream is over.

How about the ‘Hand of God’ goal by Diego Maradona in 1986? The scores are level at 0-0 in a World Cup quarter-final, Maradona punches the ball into the net to give Argentina the lead. A punch so blatant even aliens on Mars could see it. England are eventually eliminated 2-1.

Diego Maradona 🇦🇷 - the Hand of God goal🔥

That was before VAR, simpler times🥲 pic.twitter.com/tnu5yBhEhe

— Football History (@FootballHi40151) September 27, 2023

READ MORE: VAR drama: Liverpool star's wife accuses referees of 'rigging' Tottenham game

How about Geoff Hurst’s extra time ghost goal, at 2-2, against West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final? Modern technology has shown that the ball did not cross the line - surely that final must be replayed?

What about South Korea’s robbery of Italy (and Spain) at the 2002 World Cup? When Italy had a perfectly valid Golden goal disallowed - their fifth goal incorrectly disallowed for offside in three games - against Korea in the last-16 before the co-hosts won the game themselves. We now know that the referee Byron Moreno was a hugely corrupt individual who was jailed for smuggling heroin into the United States. Let’s replay the knockouts of the 2002 World Cup.

Let’s replay the 2010 World Cup qualifying playoff between Ireland and France when Thierry Henry deliberately handled the ball TWICE to assist William Gallas to score the goal that knocked the Irish out. Or maybe we can replay the entire 2010 World Cup and play with 33 teams!

And now let’s move to the Champions League, how about we replay the Chelsea versus Barcelona Champions League semi-final second leg in 2009? A game in which Chelsea had at least four strong penalty calls waved away by referee Tom Henning Ovrebo before Barca scored an injury time goal to take them to the final.

Or the 1986 European Cup semi-final when IFK Gothenburg were denied three good goals by the referee as Barcelona beat them on penalties to reach the final?

Or the 1989 European Cup semi final second leg when Rudi Vata scored an 83rd minute winner with his arm to put Benfica into the final and knock Marseille out?

We could go on and on and on.

And of course, there is a long list of scandalous matches in which Liverpool favoured from shocking refereeing calls.

How about replaying the final Champions League group game at Anfield against Napoli in the 2018-19 season? With the scores at 0-0 in the first half, Virgil van Dijk did an over-the-ball studs-up tackle that was lucky not to break Dries Mertens’ leg in two. It was a clear red card but Van Dijk escaped with just a yellow, while Napoli’s star man had to be substituted with injury. Liverpool won the game 1-0 to qualify at Napoli’s expense - and went on to win the whole tournament. Had the referee done his job properly, Liverpool would have played most of the game with 10 men and probably would have been eliminated.

How about replaying the 2005 final against Milan when Steven Gerrard clearly dived to win Liverpool a penalty that led to them leveling the game at 3-3? And how about we replay the penalty shootout when Jerzy Dudek encroached so much he was standing virtually on his six yard box by the time each Milan penalty was taken?

How about replaying the 1984 final when there was a clear foul that wasn’t given by the referee on Franco Tancredi, allowing Phil Neal to put Liverpool 1-0 ahead over Roma?

Football is full of scandalous matches. What happened to Liverpool was unacceptable but they are not the only team to have been wronged.

And unlike some of the past sufferers mentioned above, Liverpool have the chance to recover over the next seven months. It isn’t a fatal blow.

It was for Ireland when Henry handled the ball. It was for West Germany when Hurst’s goal was allowed. It was for Napoli when Van Dijk wasn’t sent off.

So, by all means Jurgen, let’s replay Liverpool vs Tottenham. But let’s also replay Roma vs Liverpool 1984, Liverpool vs Milan 2005 and Liverpool vs Napoli 2019 while we are at it.