WEST BROM were denied a clear goal against Southampton in remarkable circumstances after VAR was unable to draw a ‘definitive line’ to determine whether or not Mbaye Diagne was offside.
The confusion came when Darnel Furlong fizzed an effort across goal into a heap of shirts in the penalty area.
Mbaye Diagne turned the ball home from close range but the assistant referee immediately flagged for offside.
However replays clearly to show Diagne was onside, with only the inactive Kyle Bartley standing beyond last man Jannik Vestergaard’s trailing leg.
The incident was reviewed by VAR Kevin Friend, yet, bizarrely, the goal remained disallowed.
An official explanation to broadcaster Sky Sports claimed that, due to the “positioning of the camera”, a “definitive line” could not be drawn through Diagne’s body.
That, incredibly, resulted in referee Simon Hooper allowing the seemingly incorrect onfield decision to stand.
After the game Baggies boss Sam Allardyce called for a total overhaul of the VAR system.
Asked if he thought the game was in danger of becoming a laughing stock, Big Sam roared: “I’m afraid so.
“The reflection on VAR can be done at the end of the season and all parties should have an influential input into how VAR goes forward.
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“That needs to be from the PFA, LMA, Premier League and the FA. There are too many of us not being given an opportunity to express how to make it better.
“The decision was wrong. We got the angle – there are 16 cameras at least here and we got the angle clear on our screens – they came to the wroing decision because of human error.
“Everyone on Sky, the BBC, radio, they all say it was a bloody goal!”
Fortunately for Allardyce, his side did manage to net twice more before half-time, through a Matheus Pereira penalty and a Matt Phillips strike.
And Callum Robinson put the seal on a vital win in the Baggies survival bid with a third after the break.
But questions will still be asked about the role of VAR after it’s latest controversy.
Speaking about the decision in the Sky studio, Jamie Carragher said: “It looks miles offside when he heads it in, so the linesman putting the flag up, not a problem at all.
“But this is what you want VAR for. He is onside, I have no doubt that he is onside. My problem with it is, no-one knows, but there is more evidence for me that he is onside than offside and I would like to have seen them give the goal in that situation.”
Fellow pundit, and former Baggies striker, Kevin Campbell added: “I’ve had enough of VAR and the way it’s being officiated.
“That was a perfectly good goal and the fact that West Brom have since scored two goals has got the linesman and the VAR out of jail. For me it’s a disgrace.”
This is not the first time VAR has hit the headlines this weekend.
On Sunday, Manchester United were denied what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal after Scott McTominay was deemed to have fouled Son Heung-min in the build-up.
And the incident involving West Brom was also not the first time technology has failed to detect an incorrect decision.
In a match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United last season, the Blades appeared to have scored when keeper Orjan Nyland fumbled the ball over the line.
Replays clearly showed the ball had crossed the line, but the technology used to detect whether or not it was over was not working correctly.
Villa went on to draw the game 0-0 and ended up avoiding relegation from the Premier League by just one point.
Ahead of their game with Southampton, West Brom were eight points from safety with just seven games remaining.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
