Premier League VAR Review: 13 Mistakes in 2024 So Far
As of January 2024, the Premier League has seen 13 VAR mistakes. This includes four bad calls and nine times when VAR should have stepped in but didn’t. These details came out from the league on Tuesday. They didn’t give specifics about the missed chances, but they did mention the four wrong calls made by VAR. Premier League’s VAR Review.
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This review covers matches from round 23. One big mistake was a red card issued to Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly. That card was later canceled after a review by an independent group. The KMI Panel said that out of 70 times VAR was used this season, 66 were spot on.
1. Dango Ouattara’s Disallowed Goal
Back in August, Dango Ouattara thought he had scored the winning goal for Bournemouth against Newcastle. The referee, David Coote, first said it was a goal. But then VAR official Tim Robinson disallowed it, thinking it was a handball. Robinson believed his decision was clear-cut, so he didn’t let Coote check the monitor. The KMI Panel later said that the goal should have counted and called the VAR decision a mistake.
2. Penalty on Matthijs De Ligt
On October 27, Matthijs De Ligt of Manchester United tackled West Ham’s Danny Ings. Referee David Coote didn’t give a penalty. But VAR official Michael Oliver told Coote to check the play, leading to a penalty being awarded. Jarrod Bowen scored, giving West Ham a 2-1 victory. This made things worse for United’s coach, Erik ten Hag, who was fired the next day. The KMI Panel also disagreed with the penalty call, adding to Ten Hag’s troubles.
3. Red Card for Christian Norgaard
On November 23, Brentford faced Everton. Christian Norgaard slid in to score and caught Everton’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on the knee. Referee Chris Kavanagh didn’t call a foul at first, but VAR official Matt Donohue told him to review it for a possible red card. Kavanagh ended up giving Norgaard a red card. The KMI Panel felt this was a wrong call as well.
4. Offside Call Against Chris Wood
In December, Nottingham Forest thought they scored a fourth goal against Southampton. The goal came from Nikola Milenkovic. But VAR stepped in and told referee Anthony Taylor to review it, claiming Chris Wood was offside and interfered. The goal was called off. The KMI Panel believed the goal should have counted and disagreed with the VAR decision. Premier League’s VAR Review.
These incidents show that VAR is still having major issues in the Premier League. The KMI Panel pointed out that VAR often fails to act when it should or makes the wrong calls when it does.
