The Premier League met with Leicester, according to manager Steve Cooper, to talk about “an awful human error” that resulted in Crystal Palace scoring in the 2-2 draw last weekend.
In the second half at Selhurst Park, Stephy Mavididi gave Cooper’s team a 2-0 lead, but Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice to give the Eagles a point.
The video assistant referee (VAR) overturned the original offside ruling on Mateta’s first goal, even though replays seemed to show the French striker in an offside position.
Steve Cooper said, “We’re over it now, but it was an awful human error.”
“We have seen images that show he clearly was offside, but they frozen it at the wrong time—everything seen has been a false image.
“We had a massive error go against us; errors like that shouldn’t happen, and it’s why we’re changing to the semi-automated system,” Cooper added.
“We felt very let down by it. We needed to stand up for the club and tell the Premier League what we thought.”
The PGMOL has denied Steve Cooper VAR’s claim that the incorrect frame allowed Jean-Philippe Mateta’s opening goal in Leicester’s draw at Crystal Palace.
According to Cooper, additional perspectives have since cast doubt on whether Mateta was actually offside when the ball was played to him and whether the incorrect freeze frame was selected.
During a meeting on Monday, Leicester presented additional images to the PGMOL that they felt strengthened their case. However, according to Sky Sports News, the referee body maintained that there was no mistake and gave an explanation for rejecting the claims.
Premier League teams unanimously decided earlier this year to implement semi-automated offside technology, which was utilized during the Euros this summer. The system will be launched in the upcoming months, though it wasn’t prepared to go live at the beginning of this season.
The technology tracks player and ball movements using cameras placed all over the field. It notifies VAR officials if a player has been offside before a crucial incident, like a goal, penalty, or red card.
Leicester, who have lost all four of their Premier League games so far, will host Everton, who are also without a win on Saturday afternoon.
Everton has let up two goals in each of their last two losses; Bournemouth scored goals through Antoine Semenyo, Lewis Cook, and Luis Sinisterra starting in the 87th minute, while Aston Villa won three points thanks to a brace from Ollie Watkins and a spectacular goal from Jhon Duran.
Image credit: @LCFC via X