Seemingly every week there’s another VAR controversy the Premier League. Recently PGMOL chief Howard Web reavealed that in Liverpool not being awarded a penalty in their 1-1 draw against Arsenal on December 23rd VAR came to the wrong decision, and that’s only one of many decisions, although it’s one that could prove critical in the title race.
All around the league it has made waves, including with NFL legend and Burnley Investor J.J. Watt who spoke about VAR on the Pat McAfee show.
“Everybody hates VAR, that’s the problem. Like VAR has a chance to be successful, VAR has a chance to be good, it has a chance to be legitimate but everybody hates it because it’s so subjective at the moment,” Watt said. “We refuse to use the technology that the World Cup uses which is a very clear cut for offside. There’s so much stuff that could be good about VAR but right now, it’s costing people points, it’s costing people enjoyment, and it’s taking away from the game. VAR at the moment is terrible and it needs to be fixed. That’s just a fact, they primarily need to fix it VAR is a problem.”
When Luton Town scored their equalizer against Burnley on Jan. 12, VAR got involved to see if there was a foul by Hatters striker Elijah Adebayo on Burnley keeper James Trafford, but it was judged that Trafford ran into the striker on his own which Watt didn’t agree with.
“I’m new to this ownership thing, so if I get fined by the Premier League, so be it… This is as blatant and obvious of a foul as you could have,” Watt posted following the match. To miss this on the field AND miss this on VAR is truly disgraceful.”
With Burnely currently in the relegation zone, it’s critical that these decisions are made correctly as they will loom large down the stretch. Watt has a point when it comes to semi automated offside decisions but that’s in the hands of the Premier League to change something with a system that has many flaws.
