Referee stops Tottenham vs Liverpool to make historic announcement amid major controversy

History has been made in the Carabao Cup, albeit at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur. The first-ever in-stadium announcement of a refereeing decision confirmed Dominic Solanke's 77th-minute Tottenham goal to be offside in their against Liverpool.

Ange Postecoglou's side welcomed their Premier League rivals to North London again in the first of a two-legged semi-final, the prize being a place in March's final at Wembley.

The opening minutes were marred by Rodrigo Bentancur's worrying injury, which halted the match for nine minutes. It has since been confirmed by Sky Sports that the midfielder was awake and conscious after being stretchered off.

And it would not take until the 77th-minute for the first goal to arrive. Dominic Solanke was the scorer, though his joy would be short-lived as a VAR review came back with an offside verdict.

As was announced by the English Football League prior to the current round of the competition, referees would be the for the first time in an English competition explaining their decisions with in-stadium announcements to supporters over the tannoy.

"After a review, Dominic Solanke was in an offside position in the build-up to the goal. Final decision is offside," referee Stuart Attwell stated as the offside was confirmed.

EFL Communications on X later provided further clarity to supporters on social media.

Their statement read: "Solanke’s goal was initially awarded on-field. VAR checked and determined that he was in an offside position and recommended that the goal was disallowed."

The first and only goal of the game would eventually come soon afterward, with Lucas Bergvall scoring to give Spurs a 1-0 win. That goal was controversial too, with Liverpool complaining Bergvall should not have been on the pitch having escaped a second yellow card for a tackle on Kostas Tsimikas.

Ultimately Postecoglou's men earned themselves the victory by a one-goal margin, which they will take with them to Anfield for the second leg of the semi-final scheduled for Thursday, February 6.

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