In the 63rd minute of tonight’s FA Cup 5th Round tie between Chelsea and Barnsley, the Blues took the lead and the have the fact that VAR isn’t in place at the homes of non-Premier League sides to thank.
Captain N’Golo Kante slotted the ball to Billy Gilmour after a duel, with the Scottish starlet picking out the marauding run of right-back Reece James with a lovely pass.
James knocked the ball forward into the box before drilling a low cross into the middle, where Tammy Abraham was on hand to tap the ball into the back of an empty net.
Another look at the passage of play show that Abraham was clearly offside when the ball left James’ boot, but the goal was left to stand by the officials, who didn’t have the help of VAR to count on.
See More: Video: Kepa Arrizabalaga makes brilliant point-blank save to deny Chelsea from conceding certain goal to Barnsley in first outing for Thomas Tuchel
Tammy Abraham can’t stop scoring in the #EmiratesFACup for @ChelseaFC ? pic.twitter.com/NN6iApzSLv
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 11, 2021
Tammy Abraham looked offside when the ball was played.
Remember, there’s no VAR at non-Premier League grounds. ?
?? https://t.co/g8lKbvzsQR#bbcfootball #FACup #BARCHE pic.twitter.com/Eyzywoh1Vb
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) February 11, 2021
Pictures from the FA Cup, beIN Sports and the BBC.
Whilst this did look clearly offside, you could say that Chelsea have only reaped what they deserved as Abraham was denied a stonewall penalty in the first-half, again in a decision that could’ve been made right if VAR was in use at Oakwell.