**Wayne Rooney Disagrees with Van Dijk’s Disallowed Goal in Liverpool’s 3-0 Loss to Manchester City**
Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has voiced his disagreement with the decision to rule out Virgil van Dijk’s header during Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. This incident came just days after the two were involved in an awkward exchange on live TV.
Liverpool captain Van Dijk had a first-half goal disallowed after Andy Robertson was judged to be in an offside position and interfering with Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The goal would have leveled the score at 1-1, following Erling Haaland’s 29th-minute strike that put City ahead.
Speaking after the match, Rooney insisted that Van Dijk’s goal was wrongly ruled out, arguing that Robertson did not obstruct Donnarumma’s view. The United legend told Amazon Prime:
> “The Van Dijk goal should have stood. I don’t think Andy Robertson delayed Donnarumma diving. The City keeper can see the ball the whole way so I think that was the wrong decision.”
The goal was initially ruled out by assistant referee Stuart Burt. After reviewing the incident, VAR confirmed Burt’s decision and upheld the offside call.
The Premier League Match Center released a statement explaining the ruling:
> “The referee’s call of offside and no goal to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR with Robertson in an offside position and deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper.”
The 3-0 loss marked Liverpool’s heaviest defeat under new manager Arne Slot.
**Liverpool Boss Arne Slot Shares His View**
Despite the controversy, Liverpool manager Arne Slot stated that he believes the decision to disallow Van Dijk’s goal was correct, insisting Robertson did not interfere with Donnarumma’s actions.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Slot said:
> “I think it’s obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made, at least in my opinion. Because he [Robertson] didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do.”
Slot also referred to a similar offside call the same referee made against Manchester City last season, highlighting the consistency in decisions:
> “Immediately after the game someone showed me the goal that the same referee allowed City against Wolves last season [John Stones’ last-minute winner]. So, it took the linesman 13 seconds to raise his flag to say it’s offside. So, there was clearly communication.”
The Liverpool boss acknowledged that the disallowed goal may have influenced the game’s momentum but maintained it wasn’t the sole reason for their loss.
> “That could have influenced the game in a positive way for us because in the first half we were so poor. We would have been lucky going 1-0 down at half-time, let alone if it was 1-1 or 2-1 down. So it has been an influential decision, which is not to say that we then would have had a result over here because you cannot predict how the second half would have gone.”
**Liverpool’s Struggles Continue**
This defeat marked Liverpool’s fifth loss in 11 Premier League games this season. The Reds now head into the international break sitting eighth in the table, eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.
As the season progresses, Liverpool will be eager to bounce back and close the gap on the top of the table.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/news-days-criticising-van-dijk-wayne-rooney-makes-feelings-clear-liverpool-captain-s-disallowed-goal-loss-manchester-city