Refereeing

FOOTBALL fans reckon Liverpool are getting the rub of the green with VAR ever since their controversial defeat to Tottenham.That’s after Virgil van Dijk escaped giving away a penalty at Crystal Palace due to a foul in the build-up.
Some fans reckon Liverpool are getting VAR decisions ever since their defeat to SpursCredit: Alamy
Virgil van Dijk gave away a penalty before VAR intervenedCredit: PA
The penalty was eventually ruled out for a foul on Wataru Endo earlier in the build-upCredit: TNT
VAR made the huge call during Saturday’s Premier League clash at Selhurst Park.
Van Dijk was penalised for a foul in Liverpool’s box on Palace striker Odsonne Edouard.
The Dutchman looked distraught as referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot.
However, the official was instructed by VAR to check the pitch-side monitor as there may have been a foul on a Liverpool player in the build-up.
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Wataru Endo collided with Will Hughes earlier on, conceding possession which eventually resulted in Palace’s penalty.
But VAR and Madley agreed it was a pertinent issue in play.
And to the jeers of the Selhurst Park crowd, the penalty was overturned.
Fans at home were certainly unimpressed, with many feeling that Liverpool have been getting most VAR calls ever since a shocking call went against them in September’s defeat at Spurs.
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Luis Diaz’s perfectly legal goal was ruled out for offside as the Reds lost 2-1 while also having two players sent off.
But some supporters reckon Liverpool are now reaping the benefits.
One said: “Liverpool ever since the Spurs game has had every decision go in favour of them. VAR is a joke.”
Another declared: “Absolutely insane that the on-field call doesn’t stand there. It’s a foul, but the ref didn’t think it was. If that’s most other teams, VAR doesn’t intervene.”
One added: “Ruling that goal out against Spurs is the best thing to ever happen to Liverpool.”
However, VAR did come to the rescue for Palace during the second half.
Jean-Philippe Mateta went down from a foul by Jarell Quansah in the Liverpool box, with Madley initially waving away his concerns.
But VAR had a check and informed the ref that his decision needed checking on the screen.
And after taking a look, Madley reversed the call to give Palace the penalty.
Mateta then slammed home his effort to put the Eagles ahead at Selhurst Park.
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However, goals from Mo Salah and Harvey Elliott helped Liverpool come back to take all three points and take over from Arsenal, who play on Saturday night, at the top of table. More

INTO the rumpus about VAR, a new variant steps.Sin bins have long been of interest, even to an experiment in lower leagues which has been proclaimed a success.
VAR hasn’t improved football, claims SunSport columnist Karren BradyCredit: Rex
Bins have long been acceptable in rugby too and many other sports.
I’m no expert on brutes hurtling into each other at speed but it can be brief entertainment amid the endless gaps for head injuries and checking what a pitchside telly made of things.
No, not wrestling, I mean Sir Clive Woodward’s sport.
Now the International Football Association Board (IFAB, although not so fab after VAR introduction) are declaring serious interest in sin bins.
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It’s temporary ten-minute dismissals for offences like dissent. No wonder when dissent leapt from 174 offenders to 345 in our pro game last season.
It’s a blight but it’d be useful to know how many offences occurred after dubious VAR rulings which have left football feeling like it’s being strangled.
VAR should be limited to offside, goal-line checks . . . and little else.
It’s now a ref’s crutch rather than an aid and games are often decided by VAR stinkers, with Newcastle’s Champions League draw at Paris Saint-Germain this week the most recent example.
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Changes since the Premier League was founded in 1992 are prodigious and mostly positive but include VAR.
Sir Bobby Charlton and Terry Venables, both of whom died this autumn, were not much involved in the Prem as it grew from its infancy.
It became rich and influential and, as a player and manager, Venables in particular must have been envious of rewards in the latter years of his 80.
Twice capped by England, he was a good enough midfielder to bank more than £100,00-a-week these days.
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Brady would limit VAR’s involvement to basic checksCredit: Getty
A clever and admired man, his CV included a LaLiga title with Barcelona, an FA Cup with Tottenham and numerous promotions, so he’d have regarded £100,000 as penny-pinching.
Charlton was a football great as good as George Best in a Manchester United forward line that also boasted another exciting player in Denis Law.
I doubt there has ever been a better front three anywhere but English football then wasn’t rich enough to compete with foreign big shots for stars.
It is different today in a world where you can bring in  players from, say, South Korea to North Macedonia.
It was the Prem who supercharged the change and now their squads  are only 30 per cent British on average.
But Scottish players are nearly as rare as 100 per cent proof whisky.
Not all changes are for the best, though, and although the temptation to cheat has always existed, VAR appears to have encouraged players to take penalty area dives and fake head injuries in order to waste time.
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But better coaching has heightened entertainment and helped attract capacity crowds to 95 per cent of games and a massive overflow on television.
Once regarded as the enemy at the gate, TV is now beloved as publisher and paymaster. More

WOLVES’ sporting director has been fined and handed a BAN after swearing at referee Anthony Taylor.The FA charged Matt Hobbs with misconduct after he called Taylor “f***ing useless” following Wolves’ 2-2 controversial draw with Newcastle.
Wolves chief Matt Hobbs has been banned for a game after swearing at Anthony TaylorCredit: Getty
Hobbs called Taylor ‘f***ing useless’ after Wolves’ controversial draw with NewcastleCredit: AFP
Gary O’Neill’s side went behind to a questionable penalty following an extremely lengthy VAR check.
The Wolves manager himself branded the decision “scandalous.”
And following the game, Hobbs swore at Taylor while also sarcastically saying “we look forward to your apology again.”
Hobbs, who expressed remorse over his misconduct, said he had become “increasingly frustrated” over the decisions from Taylor.
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He has now been banned for Wolves’ next game against Arsenal.
And Hobbs must also pay a £4,000 fine after Wolves were caught up in another VAR storm against Fulham.
Boss O’Neill was left incensed as the Cottagers were handed two controversial penalties in a 3-2 win, while also seeing Fulham escape several red cards.
And he claims referee Michael Salisbury ADMITTED he and VAR had got crucial decisions wrong during the game.
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O’Neill said: “We discussed a lot of decisions. Vinicius should have been sent off for headbutting Max [Kilman]. Clear, he headbutts him on the nose. Isn’t sent off, is given a yellow.
“Tim Ream should have been sent off for a second bookable offence on the penalty. They’re both my opinions on those, obviously everyone can have their own.
“The penalties that went against us, Nelson plays the ball, doesn’t touch Tom Cairney. I watched that back with the referee and, to be fair to him, he says he thinks they’ve got that wrong and he should have been sent to the monitor.
“Doesn’t help me, doesn’t help all the fans that have travelled all this way to watch the team, doesn’t help the players who are feeling frustrated again.
“So the Nelson one has pretty much been admitted by the referee that they made a mistake.
“The one on Harry Wilson we disagree on a little bit. He thinks there’s enough contact there to give a penalty. I think it’s really soft.
“So you could argue two of them could go against us, but for all four of them to go against us is a tough one for the lads, the supporters and myself to take because we’ve been here a lot of times this season. 
“It’s tough because we didn’t deserve that.” More