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VAR you having a laugh

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VAR you having a laugh

Phil Egan
Phil Egan

09:49 10 Jul 2020


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The Premier League has admitted that three VAR decisions made during Thursday's Premier League games were incorrect.

Manchester United and Southampton were both awarded penalties, while Tottenham were denied a spot-kick during their scoreless draw with Bournemouth.

The Premier League confirmed to BBC’s Match of the Day that all three decisions, made with the video technology, were incorrect.

Bruno Fernandes was awarded a penalty by referee Jon Moss during the first-half of United's 3-0 win away to Aston Villa but the replay showed the Portuguese midfielder appeared to stand on the leg of Villa defender Ezri Konsa.

The incident was reviewed by VAR official Graham Scott and it was not overturned, much to the surprise of Villa boss Dean Smith.

Smith said: "How someone in the studio who had the view I had only once can make that decision is beyond me.

"Five minutes after the game the 100 messages I’ve had from people who have watched it telling me it’s a disgraceful decision tells me my feelings were right.

"I went down to the dugout and saw it on the camera and thought it would be overturned straight away.

"Anyone in football knows Fernandes is trying the dragback, he puts his foot on the ball and stands on Ezri.

"We always felt that was what VAR was brought in for but obviously it’s still becoming human error, going from one man’s opinion to another.

"There have been some really poor VAR decisions this season, which is unfortunate for a system which was supposed to help the big decisions."

 

James Ward-Prowse missed a penalty in Southampton's 1-1 draw away to Everton after the Saints midfielder appeared to fall into the Andre Gomes.

Everton may have got away with it because Ward-Prowse hit the crossbar but the Premier League confirmed it was the wrong decision to give a penalty.

Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti was critical of referee Lee Mason and said: "the performance of the referee was like my team - not so good."

 

The third incident the Premier League admit was wrong came in the scoreless draw between Bournemouth and Tottenham.

Bournemouth striker Joshua King pushed Spurs captain Harry Kane in the back during the first half but referee Paul Tierney did not award a penalty and VAR official Michael Oliver chose not to intervene.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was left scratching his head after the incident.

"In the world, everybody knows that is a penalty," Mourinho said

"And I say everybody, I mean everybody. It's not just my opinion, everyone in the world, everybody knows that is a penalty.

"And when I say everybody, I say everybody, everybody."

The Premier League has been heavily criticised for its use of VAR and especially for not using pitchside monitors to review incidents.

Referee Chris Kavanagh sent off Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah against Leicester in a recent game after using his pitchside monitor but that was a rare use of the monitor.

There has been confusion in the Premier League, with referees' chief Mike Riley limiting the use of monitors to not slow the game down.

Fifa is taking over direct responsibility of VAR from football rulemakers IFAB and is expected to insist on greater consistency across all leagues.

 


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Aston Villa Bruno Fernandes Harry Kane James Ward-Prowse Jose Mourinho Manchester United Premier League Southampton Tottenham VAR

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