Ian Wright mocks VAR in reaction to Balbuena winning appeal
Ian Wright has mocked VAR after Fabian Balbuena’s red card was rescinded following an appeal from West Ham.
Referee Chris Kavanagh sent off the defender for making contact with Ben Chilwell’s calf, but Balbuena was kicking the ball and there was nowhere else for his foot to land.
The PGMOL overturned Kavanagh’s decision and it is the second time a West Ham player has been successful in an appeal, with Tomas Soucek’s sending off at Fulham also struck off.
Wright took to Twitter in response to the news, posting a GIF that has a caption that reads, “60% of the time it works every time” – clearly a dig at VAR.
Costly decision
The PGMOL made the right decision in overturning Balbuena’s suspension but this sorry episode has been rather embarrassing for the organisation.
Worse than that, Balbuena’s red card arguably cost us points, as it reduced our chances of finding a way back into the match on Saturday.
This is just one of the countless decisions VAR and the referees have got wrong this season.
And on this occasion, it was the intervention of VAR that led to the poor decision, as Kavanagh would not have reached to his pocket without Peter Bankes telling him to review the footage.
There clearly needs to be better training, as referees have still not got to grips with the new technology.
An apology or explanation for the decision from Kavanagh would also be very helpful, but we know that is very unlikely, unfortunately.
We expect this to be the last time one of our players is unfairly sent off.
In other West Ham news, Ogbonna 2.0 – West Ham must swoop for ‘Sensational’ 24y/o who is perfect for Moyes.