I don’t think that anything or anyone else introduced to the Premier League has managed to have it’s name chanted at all 20 grounds despite only featuring in four rounds of matches. The “f*ck VAR” chant is becoming increasingly used and the flawed system was exposed yet again today.
Adam Leventhal commented on Twitter that it has been confirmed VAR had made a mistake in allowing a Newcastle goal to stand despite reviewing the footage:
Re the #NUFC goal v #WatfordFC today. Have had it confirmed that VAR did simply miss the handball in build up to Schär’s goal & it should have been ruled out. Too late now obviously, but reminder VAR not immune from human error.
— Adam Leventhal (@AdamLeventhal) August 31, 2019
I attended my first game with VAR present last week and it’s a rubbish experience, everyone stops and waits for something to be reviewed at any opportunity and you can’t take any ref’s decision seriously anymore.
Today’s error is doubly bad because there was a delay while VAR viewed the footage and they still couldn’t get the decision right. Man City fans will be quick to point out that the same system cancelled out their late winner over Spurs for a much smaller infraction.
The idea behind it is to cancel out any horrendous errors or if something is missed. Think back to Marco Materazzi’s headbutt on Zidane in the World Cup Final – If the ref had missed that then that’s the kind of decision you want your VAR system to look at.
Despite this I found myself recently spending five minutes watching someone draw various lines on a screen after Ruben Neves scored a stunner to equalise against Man United. Here’s a clue, if it takes you more than five minutes to decide if someone is offside then it’s probably not a clear and obvious mistake.
These fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration with the Newcastle decision:
@premierleague VAR is a very flawed system and your officials seem utterly clueless.
Leicester player should have been Red Carded, Newcastle goal should have been disallowed like the Man City goal vs Spurs and the Aston Villa goal should have stood……overzealous Ref!!!— Garry Foster (@unchainedwcrfm) August 31, 2019
Mistakes from VAR today:-
1) Hayden handled the ball in Newcastle’s build up to the goal
2) Tielemans should have got a red
3) Aston Villa’s goal by Lansbury should have stood, Grealish didn’t foul
3 controversial decisions, unexpected ??????— Liverpool?????? (@amitava_auddy) August 31, 2019
Wait, the ball came off of the arm of the Newcastle player before it went in? Where was VAR???
— Conal (@conal_lfc_97) August 31, 2019
Because it’s becoming clear that VAR doesn’t even know what it’s doing, what about the Newcastle goal that should have been disallowed just like the Man City one against spurs #varjoke
— bluearmy2015 (@bluearmy2015) August 31, 2019
“VAR not immune from human error”.
Eh? What’s the fucking point then? The refs are shit enough on their own without VAR adding to it
— James (@gortavfc) August 31, 2019
This was live footage from the VAR apparently pic.twitter.com/LmOOiz00Z5
— Stu (@Stupendous_one) August 31, 2019
Technology is wonderful when used properly but this system is completely flawed and takes a lot of the joy out of football. Despite that it may also be the only thing capable of stopping Man City this season…