West Ham United source speaks out after VAR shambles v Aston Villa at London Stadium
West Ham do not see the point in complaining to the Premier League following the lengthy VAR stoppage against Aston Villa, according to the Daily Mail.
The video official intervened after Tomas Soucek bundled the ball over the line late on in Sunday’s (17 March) eventual 1-1 draw with Villa at London Stadium.
After a five minute and 37 second check – the longest ever since the technology was rolled out in 2019 – it was adjudged that Soucek used his arm and the goal was ruled out.
In an article for the Daily Mail [18 March], Kieran Gill wrote: “West Ham will not complain to the PGMOL – headed up by Howard Webb since December 2022 – with one source telling Mail Sport they see no point in seeking feedback because they have to ‘just accept’ what happened at the London Stadium.
“One former Premier League official told Mail Sport yesterday that the lengthy checks are a consequence of VARs being frightened to come to a conclusion, adding: ‘That’s why it took so long to rule out West Ham’s goal. They’re worried about an angle cropping up later which shows they were wrong and then suddenly, they’re dropped from the next round of matches.”
The report added: “The PGMOL face having to explain why VAR took an embarrassing five minutes and 37 seconds to disallow West Ham’s winner against Aston Villa, just a month after the Premier League warned the refereeing body that lengthy delays are damaging their product.”
VAR shambles overshadows West Ham v Aston Villa
If VAR is to be implemented, it cannot take more than a minute – two minutes maximum – as it just completely kills the game.
Quite why it took nearly six minutes to come to a decision is staggering. It seems officials are just too scared of making the wrong call.
The bottom line is, if you cannot see there has been a clear and obvious error one way or the other after a minute, just move on.
A clear and obvious error should literally be spotted in seconds. The wrong player being dismissed or a clear offside, say.
Nobody wants to see lines drawn to see if a player’s toenail was offside. Instead, use VAR if a player’s leg, say, is clearly offside before scoring.
This was yet another shambolic moment for VAR, and you can be certain that it will not be the last before this season concludes.
In other West Ham news, Chris Sutton has called for a big change to be made inside grounds following the incident versus Villa.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.