'I don't like it': Gareth Southgate weighs in on VAR debate after disallowed goal row

England boss Gareth Southgate has weighed in on football's VAR debate, revealing he has never been a fan of the technology and would prefer just to accept referees' decisions.

The off-field decision-making process has come under renewed fire this week after Liverpool were denied a fair goal in their defeat at Tottenham, when VAR Darren England mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside, but instead validated the linesman's offside call.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called for the game to be replayed while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced a review into VAR.

Southgate's side were victims of a contentious call in the early days of VAR when Jesse Lingard had a goal disallowed in the semi-final of the Nations League in 2019, following a questionable offside decision.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday after announcing his latest England squad, he said his fondness for the system has not grown since then.

"Well, when you say I was at the forefront of it, I wasn't for it," Southgate said.

"My first experience of it… we're still not sure if the Jesse Lingard goal that knocked us out of a semi-final was legit or not.

"I don't like it. I think we should just accept referees' decisions, but I also know that we're unlikely to go back to a world where we don't have technology as part of that decision-making process.

"It was never going to resolve every issue and I don't think there is any solution that will achieve that."

Elsewhere, Southgate said it will be "brilliant for everybody" if the UK and Ireland's bid to host the Euro 2028 gets the green light as expected.

Turkey's withdrawal to focus on a joint submission with Italy for Euro 2032 means the five-nation bid is now the only option on the table for the finals in five years' time.

UEFA will formally announce the hosts for the two tournaments following a meeting of its executive committee in Switzerland next week.

"Well, it's clearly a joint bid with all the other home nations so brilliant for everybody if that opportunity arises," Southgate added.

"There's still a little bit to do, I think. But I think you know, all the nations are fantastic football nations, huge pride.

"They'll have huge pride in hosting and if the teams get qualified as well then there's obviously some home advantage to hosting as well."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...