Newcastle and Manchester United both have 57 points with one Premier League match left this season
Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon said he “doesn’t understand the point” of having video assistant referees (VAR) in football.
Gordon was denied a first-half penalty despite appearing to be caught by Manchester United’s Sofyan Amrabat in Newcastle’s 3-2 loss at Old Trafford.
With Newcastle 1-0 behind at the time, on-field referee Rob Jones did not give a spot-kick and was then not told to review the incident by VAR official Jarred Gillett.
“I have watched it back and it is a clear penalty,” said Gordon. “He [Amrabat] goes down my Achilles and pushes me in the back. I knew straight away, that’s why I didn’t appeal. I waited for the VAR to check, I told my team-mates ‘it was a clear penalty’.
“I don’t mind the referee getting it wrong on the pitch, but I don’t understand the point of VAR. Either get rid of it or get better. It’s that simple, there’s too many mistakes.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe added: “I thought it was a penalty. I thought that’s what VAR was good at.
“I have always been in an era where the referee makes a decision and I back it. I would possibly keep it [VAR] with offsides, but I want more power with referees.”
Gordon’s comments came hours after it was announced that Premier League clubs will vote on whether to remove VAR from next season at their annual general meeting next month.
Wolves have formally submitted a resolution to the Premier League which will trigger a vote when the 20 member clubs meet in Harrogate on 6 June.
Earlier on Wednesday, ex-England captain Wayne Rooney, speaking on Sky Sports, said he preferred the game without VAR.
“I don’t like VAR and if it’s there and they get all the decisions right then fair enough but it’s taken all the enjoyment out of the game,” he added.
“You’re better off letting referees ref it and understand they will make mistakes. I’d much rather see the game without it.”
Gary O’Neil remonstrates with his arms out to referee Tony Harrington, who has his back to the camera, after Wolves’ defeat to West Ham
Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was fined £8,000 and given a touchline ban following the West Ham game.
Why have Wolves called for a vote on VAR?
Wolves said VAR was introduced “in good faith” but has led to “numerous unintended negative consequences that are damaging the relationship between fans and football”.
The club is bringing the discussion to the table to judge the real feeling about VAR, not just to sit through the summer and accept things are fine with the technology.
Decisions against Manchester United, Luton, Sheffield United, Newcastle and Fulham also cost them points in the first half of the season.
There was a split Key Match Incident (KMI) panel decision on whether Joao Gomes’ handball should have been given in the 1-1 draw at Luton, while it unanimously agreed Sheffield United’s last-gasp penalty winner should not have been given.
Wolves felt Newcastle’s spot-kick should also have been overturned, while at Fulham in November the visitors conceded two penalties and also believed Carlos Vinicius should have been shown a red card. But the panel felt the VAR calls were correct.
At the time O’Neil said the club may “have to start making noise” about VAR calls.
Will Wolves have support from other clubs?
The call which further infuriated Wolves and prompted their move was the decision to rule out Max Kilman’s injury-time leveller against West Ham last month.
Wolves lost 2-1 at home, harming their European hopes at the time, after Tawanda Chirewa was adjudged to be offside and blocking Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianski, therefore interfering with play.
O’Neil called it one of the worst decisions he had ever seen and his reaction to referee Tony Harrington led to an £8,000 fine and one-game touchline ban.
The KMI panel unanimously agreed with the officials’ decisions.
Wolves are likely to find support from other clubs.
Nottingham Forest’s controversial social media post about VAR Stuart Attwell following their defeat at Everton in April went viral.
Claims for penalties after Ashley Young’s challenge on Gio Reyna, his handball and then an attempted tackle on Callum Hudson-Odoi were all turned down by Anthony Taylor on the pitch, with VAR Attwell not intervening.
Forest lost the Premier League game against their fellow strugglers 2-0 at Goodison Park.
The ball appears to strike Ashley Young’s right arm with Callum Hudson-Odoi next to him on his left hand side after crossing the ball
Minutes after full-time, the club posted on social media, alleging Attwell was a fan of relegation rivals Luton – a statement which has been seen more than 45 million times.
Forest’s post said: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.
“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan… NFFC will now consider its options.”
The KMI panel ruled Forest should have had one spot-kick.
In October, the audio recordings of discussions between the match officials around Luis Diaz’s disallowed goal against Tottenham were made public.
Liverpool asked referees’ body PGMOL for the audio after the controversy in the first half of their 2-1 defeat.
VAR Darren England did not overrule when Liverpool’s Diaz was wrongly flagged offside.
What does the Premier League say?
Any call from clubs to jettison VAR will be met with pushback from the Premier League which believes rejecting the technology is not the way forward.
The Premier League’s figures say VAR has increased the number of correct decisions made in games from 82%, prior to its introduction, to 96% this season and the removal of the technology would allow more wrong decisions to creep back in.
It also believes that a VAR snub would also have a significant impact on the Premier League’s reputation as the best league in the world and possibly put more scrutiny on on-field decisions.
A statement following Wolves’ resolution read: “Clubs are entitled to put forward proposals at Shareholders’ meetings and we acknowledge the concerns and issues around the use of VAR.
“However, the League fully supports the use of VAR and remains committed, alongside PGMOL, to make continued improvements to the system for the benefit of the game and fans.”
