Mark Halsey column: Unpunished forearm smash in Aston Villa vs West Ham shows VAR is still all over the place in Premier League

Posted by

What on earth is going on with VAR and the training and education? It’s still all over the place in the Premier League.

Ezri Konsa was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity on Jarrod Bowen, but I’m bemused Chris Kavanagh did not dismiss Kortney Hause for a forearm smash on Pablo Fornals in the build-up.

Kavanagh should have recognised Hause’s challenge as a red card offence, but I’m equally amazed VAR official Stuart Attwell also didn’t recommend a review for violent conduct.

Both Aston Villa players could have been sent off but common sense should have prevailed with a review of the first incident.

Had Hause been red carded with a free-kick awarded then the next action by Konsa could have been nullified.

MORE: Toney on Liverpool

It was a clear and obvious error by Kavanagh. However, the second incident wasn’t.

Kavanagh gave a yellow card to Konsa for tripping Bowen and I felt that was the correct call because the West Ham forward was going wide and the direction of the ball wasn’t going towards the goal.

VAR should not have intervened on this incident because it wasn’t a clear and obvious error. Kavanagh looked at the monitor and changed his mind.

West Ham also had a strong claim for a first-half penalty when Kurt Zouma had his shirt pulled by Ashley Young. It was a clear spot-kick.

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey is a columnist for CaughtOffside.com
More Stories Chris Kavanagh Ezri Konsa Jarrod Bowen Kortney Hause Mark Halsey Pablo Fornals Stuart Attwell

1 Comment

Comments are closed