ANDROS TOWNSEND wants rid of VAR because it is ruining the raw emotion of football.
The Crystal Palace star is no fan of referees consulting pitch-side monitors as it unnecessarily slows down the game.
Townsend has lashed out at VAR after a controversial moment during Fulham vs PalaceCredit: PA:Press Association
Kamara was sent off after the ref checked the pitch-side monitor and players from both sides pleading for just a yellow cardCredit: PA:Press Association
The winger could only laugh as Fulham’s Aboubakar Kamara was sent-off in the Eagles’ 2-1 win at Craven Cottage on Saturday after ref Graham Scott had checked the incident on telly by the side of the pitch.
That was despite Townsend and other players from both sides pleading with the official to only issue a booking.
He told talkSPORT: “Yes, it was a bad tackle but the intention was to get the ball, it wasn’t a dangerous foul.
“The referee walks over to the monitor, we’re all speaking to each other, the Palace and Fulham players…
“We’re saying it’s a yellow card. I’m saying to the ref it’s a yellow.
“Then he gets sent off and all you can do is laugh.
“It’s gone past the point of getting angry about it. There’s a fundamental error in the rules.
“I think going to the monitor wastes even more time.
Ref Graham Scott even checked the pitch-side monitor before sending off KamaraCredit: PA:Press Association
“Everybody knows if the ref goes to the monitor and it’s a penalty or a red card, he’s going to change his mind.
“Why not let the person at Stockley Park make that decision for you? VAR is meant to be clear and obvious.
“If it’s clear and obvious, you don’t need the ref to run over to the monitor every two minutes and delay a game when maybe a team has got momentum and you lose that.”
Townsend claims players do not have a problem with referees, as they are just trying to apply the ever-changing laws as best they can.
His beef is with VAR and the interpretation of the rules, which he feels have changed so much over the years that ‘we have a game we don’t even recognise’.
The ex-England star, 29, added: “I’ve never been a fan of VAR.
“Even if it was 100 per cent perfect and got everything right, I still think it ruins the raw emotion of football.
“If you score a last-minute goal, you go wild, but if your shoulder’s offside it doesn’t count.
“Then next time you score, you’re not going to celebrate as intensely, so you lose the raw emotion.
“The fact it’s making so many mistakes, we need to get rid of it.”
Shaun Custis wants VAR to be scrapped, after yet more controversy in the Premier League
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
