The West Ham United vs Aston Villa Premier League clash at the London Stadium yesterday descended into farce after VAR took centre stage.
The officials operating the VAR technology took nearly six minutes to disallow what would have been a stoppage-time winner for West Ham United against Aston Villa.
Hammers boss David Moyes was visibly fuming on the touchline, his side had three Premier League points taken away from them at the death after all.
West Ham has been stung by VAR on numerous occasions this season – most recently during their draw away at Sheffield United in January.
Yesterday’s decision really hurt the Hammers players and fans, but not because it was the wrong one in the end…
The painful VAR check at the London Stadium yesterday was the longest in its history in the Premier League.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy watching a game of football now, let alone celebrating a goal when you know those behind a TV screen will go through the incident with a fine-tooth comb looking for any reason they can to rule it out.
The length of time that incidents are being checked is my main gripe, and Andy Townsend highlighted exactly that on talkSPORT yesterday.
talkSPORT host Adrian Durham shared something brilliant he heard Andy Townsend say about the farcical VAR check at the London Stadium yesterday:
“Listen, here’s the thing…the correct decision was made in the end, I can admit that. However, the fact that the decision took nearly six minutes to be made proves to me that it was not a clear and obvious error by Jarred Gillett to award the goal.
“I feel like they are doing everything they can now to rule out a goal rather than have a quick look to see if there is anything obvious that the referee has missed.
“The VAR controversy during the West Ham vs Aston Villa clash yesterday perfectly sums up for me why so many people have a problem with it. It’s not the technology itself that’s an issue, but rather those operating it and the way in which it is being used.
“Talks need to happen at the very highest level of the game about how referees are misusing VAR. The bar needs to be set higher whereby a maximum of 30 seconds is allowed to check an incident, and if no ‘obvious’ error is spotted, then the advantage is handed to the attacking team.
“Something has to change, and fast, if fans are to remain invested in the sport, as far as I’m concerned.”
With the ongoing controversies surrounding VAR, its implementation and use remain topics of heated debate among football fans worldwide.