“That’s a clear offside!” – Neville calls out Diaz for influencing Jota’s goal.

“That’s a blatant offside!” – Neville takes aim at Diaz for his involvement in Jota’s goal.

Diogo Jota’s solitary goal secured Liverpool’s victory in the Merseyside derby, but Gary Neville wasn’t pleased with the way it unfolded.

On the Gary Neville Podcast, the former full-back commented, “I think that’s a clear offside. While it’s not technically in the rules, for me, that’s definitely offside when the ball is played just a bit. It’s like when a goal is scored and a player stands in front of the goalkeeper—you can tell that’s offside because they’re interfering with play.”

Neville believed Luis Diaz was interfering with play, as James Tarkowski had to stretch to make his touch on the ball in the build-up to Jota’s goal. However, the law states that Diaz’s involvement wasn’t enough to disallow the goal.

Neville clarified that his criticism was directed at the rule itself, rather than the officiating of that particular moment.

Ultimately, Jota’s Merseyside derby goal was correctly awarded. But there were more glaring issues in the match, notably a reckless challenge from the opposition captain on Alexis Mac Allister, which went unpunished despite almost resulting in a serious injury.

Moreover, Diaz became involved in further controversy after receiving a yellow card for sarcastically applauding the referee when an obvious foul was overlooked.

Given the number of questionable decisions against Liverpool, it would be frustrating if a correct call—like the one for Jota’s goal—became the biggest talking point.