VAR

MANCHESTER UNITED coach Darren Fletcher exploded at VAR with an X-rated rant after VAR intervened to award West Ham a controversial penalty.Erik ten Hag’s side lost 2-1 in dramatic circumstances on Sunday afternoon as a stoppage-time spot kick was given to The Hammers for a collision involving Matthijs de Ligt and Danny Ings.Matthijs de Ligt’s collision with Danny Ings handed West Ham a penaltyCredit: GettyDarren Fletcher was thoroughly unhappy with the penalty decisionCredit: GettyReferee David Coote did not give the penalty, but he was then instructed to go to the monitor.After consulting the pitchside screen, he pointed to the spot and Jarrod Bowen dispatched to earn Julen Lopetegui’s men a valuable three points.The Premier League released a statement on the decision by claiming there was “sufficient contact” to award the penalty.But Man Utd coach Fletcher, 40, clearly did not agree.READ MORE ON MAN UTDAccording to The Athletic, he was sat in the stands with Man Utd analysts and could be heard slamming the referee’s call.He is reported to have said: “One week it’s a high threshold, next week it’s not, f***ing joke.”The comment comes just days after he was charged with misconduct by the FA for “acting in an improper or confrontational manner” during Man Utd’s clash with Brentford.The former Red Devils midfielder protested the decision to allow Ethan Pinnock’s goal to stand.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSAnd the FA released a statement which read: “Darren Fletcher has been charged with misconduct following Manchester United’s fixture against Brentford on Saturday, October 20, in the Premier League.”It’s alleged that the coach acted in an improper and/or confrontational manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official and the referee and/or assistant referees.Roy Keane left red-faced after Sky Sports colleague tells Man Utd legend to ‘bring this look back'”Darren Fletcher has until Tuesday, October 29, to respond.”Man Utd’s defeat to West Ham leaves them languishing in 14th in the Premier League table with just 11 points from nine matches.They are already seven points adrift of the Champions League places. More

THE PREMIER LEAGUE have released a statement explaining the award of West Ham’s controversial penalty against Manchester United.Referee David Coote did not give a spot kick after Matthijs de Ligt came together with Danny Ings in the area.Matthijs de Ligt was judged to have fouled Danny IngsThe penalty was given after the VAR sent referee David Coote to the monitorCredit: RexThe decision enraged Man Utd’s players and manager Erik ten HagCredit: GettyTen Hag described the decision as ‘not right’ after the gameCredit: AlamyA VAR review took place and Coote was instructed to view the incident on the monitor.He did so and ended up giving the penalty, before the Premier League made comment on their Match Centre account on X, claiming there was “sufficient contact”.They said: “The referee did not award a penalty to West Ham for a challenge by de Ligt on Ings.”The VAR deemed there was sufficient contact on Ings’ lower leg and recommended an on-field review.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL”The referee overturned his original decision and awarded a penalty.”Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag confronted the officials after the game and looked incensed by the decision.When asked about the controversial call, he said: “Three times this season we feel injustice.”Unfair and unjust the way we conceded the penalty.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS”It was so difficult to see. Before the season there was the instruction about VAR only interfering in clear and obvious mistakes.”That is definitely not a clear and obvious mistake from the on field referee.Watch Jose Mourinho’s hilarious reaction after Man Utd keeper Andre Onana’s ‘double worldy’ save”More frustrations but I can do nothing with that. They don’t collect points and that’s what we have to do.”We have to look in the mirror, we don’t score in a good game from our side. Create loads of chances and concede none but when you lose in this way it’s a bad feeling.”Asked whether he had talked to the officials, he added: “I spoke with them. But the decision is made. There’s no way back and that’s football.”That’s a third time I have felt injustice in the season and it has a big impact on our team and on our scores and where we are in the table. It’s not right.”Man Utd ratings vs West HamTHE LONDON STADIUM was the venue for the latest defeat in a shocker of a season.To be fair, it was a hugely controversial VAR call in the dying moments that handed West Ham a 2-1 win.And the first half from the Red Devils was impressive.Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated the players…Andre Onana – 6Very loose with the ball at his feet early on but soon settled.Manchester United conceded from West Ham’s first shot on target, though given Ings’ deflected strike there was little Onana could have done about it.Diogo Dalot – 5Delivered one of the most entertaining missed chances you will see all season – doing so well to clip the ball past Lukasz Fabianski before smashing the ball high and wide of an open goal.Despite that, had little trouble from those in claret and blue attacking down his side until Summerville was introduced. The former Leeds man tested Dalot a number of times with his pace.Redeemed himself a touch with the header back in ahead of Casemiro’s equaliser.Matthijs de Ligt – 6Hard done by in conceding the penalty for what looked a soft challenge on Hammers striker Ings.Restricted West Ham well for the most part but United never looked entirely comfortable at the back and a more potent attack could have caused much more trouble.Lisandro Martinez – 6Struggled at times to deal with the strength and direct nature of Michail Antonio, who tested all across United’s back line well until he was replaced by Ings.Noussair Mazraoui – 5Struggled to keep a handle on both Bowen and former Manchester United man Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the most part and was thrown around by Michail Antonio at times.Having looked soft at the back he also offered very little going forwards down the left.Casemiro – 6Started strongly dominating in the middle but struggled to wrestle that back when West Ham picked up.Was denied a first half goal by Fabianski’s superb save but got one eventually as he refused to give up and made sure the ball.Christian Eriksen – 5Some flashes of creativity in the first half but could not help United keep control in the second after West Ham perked up.Marcus Rashford – 4Entirely absent throughout the hour he was on the pitch. Played down the right he was easily managed by Emerson Palmieri who had little of note to do before the winger went off.Bruno Fernandes – 7Caused huge problems for West Ham and created plenty of chances which his teammates put to waste.Fernandes made a fine run to meet a Casemiro cross but headed over the bar and had to watch both Garnacho and Dalot pass up huge chances after his good work to set them up – especially the latter, a wonderful looped ball to cut out the entire West Ham defence.Alejandro Garnacho – 5The young winger should have had two goals inside the opening eight minutes. One chance was rattled against the bar before a poor finish sent the second wide of the far post.He continued to cause trouble down the left but faded as the game went on and crucially gave the ball away in the build-up to Summerville’s goal.Rasmus Hojlund – 5Drew a couple of saves from Hammers keeper Fabianski but neither looked too difficult.The Dane was rather comfortably dealt with by West Ham’s central defenders and never looked too much of a threat.SubstitutesAmad Diallo – 6Added some life and threat to a forward line which had offered little after the break and lifted a clever ball over to Dalot in the build-up to Casemiro’s goal.Joshua Zirkzee – 5Claimed an assist but did not know a lot about it and struggled to have an impact from there on.Victor Lindelof – n/aUnused subs: Altay Bayindir, Manuel Ugarte, Jonny Evans, Ethan Wheatley, Harry Amass, Jack Fletcher.Many fans had similar feelings about the decision as they took to social media to vent their frustration.One said: “That’s a disgrace. The game is gone, I can’t believe I witnessed this being given as a penalty.”Another added: “Not enough for a penalty. Contact not sufficient. Shouldn’t even have gone to the VAR. United robbed!”A third replied: “Manchester United were robbed in my opinion. Not a penalty.”READ MORE SUN STORIESWhile a fourth responded: “VAR HAS MADE AN ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE MISTAKE!”The result lifts West Ham above Man Utd into 13th place, one spot above Ten Hag’s men who are already seven points adrift of a Champions League place. More

THE Premier League table would look very different if VAR wasn’t in use.Several fans, players and managers have criticised the use of the technology since it was introduced to England’s top division five years ago.Wolves boss Gary O’Neil has criticised VARCredit: GettyMan City’s John Stones scored a controversial late goal against Wolves at the weekend that was reviewed and given by VARCredit: GettyWolves boss Gary O’Neil claimed officials have a “subconscious” bias towards the Prem’s top clubs after his team conceded a controversial late goal against Manchester City on Sunday.He said: “There’s no chance people are purposely against Wolves.”But is there something in the subconscious around the decision-making, without even knowing it? Are you more likely to give it to Man City than Wolves?”My senses are heightened when we are facing Man City. Are the officials the same?Read More in Football”If I had to upset someone and there’s a big and a little guy, I’m upsetting the little guy.”Wolves could have been one point better off in the league table had John Stones’ dramatic late winner not been given.Birmingham World recently investigated how the standings would look if VAR wasn’t used in the Prem.At the bottom of the table, Wolves and Southampton would be one point better off without the technology.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSHow the Prem table would look without VARBournemouth would be four points better off without VARCredit: ReutersHowever, they would both still remain in the relegation zone.Crystal Palace would also be on two points – one less than they are currently on.How Liverpool outsmarted Chelsea with Slot’s genius ‘traffic jam’ trick and Curtis Jones masterclassThe use of VAR has not majorly affected the likes of Ipswich, West Ham, Leicester and Brentford.But the findings suggest Everton would have benefited if VAR wasn’t in use.In arguably the biggest surprise, Bournemouth would be fifth with 15 points without VAR.The Cherries would be four points better off without the technology.Liverpool would remain at the top of the table with 21 points – the same total they currently have.Manchester City would stay in second – but with two points less.The absence of VAR would not affect the current standings of Arsenal and Aston Villa in third and fourth.Man City would have two less pointsCredit: EPA More

JUST because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not after you.As Wolves boss Gary O’Neil continues to realise.Wolves were the club who raged against the machines and forced a vote among Premier League clubs on whether VAR should be scrapped — only to lose 19-1 because none of their rivals shared their originality of thought.Gary O’Neil was left frustrated following Wolves’ defeat to Man City on SundayCredit: GettyThe game was decided with a late VAR callCredit: GettyJohn Stones scored the winnerCredit: GettyBelieving that technology doesn’t always improve things is becoming one of society’s great taboos.And then the Ipswich v Everton kick-off gets delayed due to “IT issues at the turnstiles”.My own digital season ticket has vanished from my so-called smartphone. I never once lost an actual season ticket.Yet profess a hatred of apps and QPR codes, or whatever they’re called, and suddenly you’re Captain f***ing Caveman.Read More in FootballStill, rant over and back to Wolves. Of course, football being football, the Molineux club acted largely out of self-interest by  bringing that vote.Last season, Wolves were top of the VAR “hard-done-by league” with a staggering  seven overturns going against them.But they ended up a lone voice of common sense, speaking out against a system which beats the joyous spontaneity out of the game and leaves match-going fans frequently baffled.On Sunday, O’Neil’s rock-bottom side were kicked in the teeth again when VAR awarded Manchester City’s John Stones an injury-time winner, despite Bernardo Silva being in an offside position and  jostling with keeper Jose Sa.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSThe on-field ref Chris Kavanagh —  on the scene for a remarkably  large percentage of high-profile gaffes — deemed Silva to have  been interfering with play, yet VAR Stuart Attwell disagreed.Then came Kavanagh’s trip to the VAR monitor — an entirely  performative process to give the impression that the referee is still allowed a mind of his own and won’t just automatically do whatever Stockley Park recommends.Did officials cheat Arsenal with dramatic Man City winner and Saliba red card?Pretty much every great old-school manager from Bill Shankly to Brian Clough is credited with quoting the phrase, “If he’s not interfering with play, what’s he doing on the pitch?”While that view is too simplistic, we’ve gone too far in the opposite direction. A set-piece coach will tell you that pretty much every player in the box following a corner is interfering with play — or should be.This season began with refs’ chief Howard Webb promising a “light-touch” approach to VAR, claiming that only on-field decisions which were genuine clangers would be overturned.Even those of us firmly opposed to VAR recognised this as an improvement.This lasted a couple of weeks before being conveniently forgotten — as pre-season refereeing edicts always seem to be.Now VARs have again started re-refereeing the huge number of subjective decisions which football always throws up.Because VARs will always be keen to stick their oar in to justify their existence. The system has become a labour-intensive jobs-for-the-boys scheme for match officials. Next, though, to O’Neil’s suggestion of a subconscious bias towards bigger clubs.O’Neil suggested referees have a subconscious bias towards bigger clubsCredit: EPAThis is barely borne out by stats  — Fulham and those great “world’s-against-us” conspiracy theorists Nottingham Forest were actually the biggest beneficiaries from VAR overturns last season with five more decisions going for them rather than against them.O’Neil, though, is right to be paranoid. Just in the wrong way.VAR simply seems to have it in for Wolves rather than “smaller” clubs in general.At least this all seems to disprove the age-old idea that refs try to “even things up” if they know they have made a bad error.Webb has issued so many  apologies to Wolves that he must have racked up a serious number of loyalty points with Interflora.But if any official on VAR duty is acting with a conscious or subconscious knowledge that Wolves have been continually shafted then they do a pretty good job of ignoring this and carrying on regardless.O’Neil’s job is under threat because Wolves have one point from eight games.While their fixture list has been extremely tough — and a couple of poor VAR decisions have again gone against them — that’s clearly not good enough.Should O’Neil get the sack his next job will probably be in the EFL, where clubs admirably refuse to follow the Premier League into mechanised mayhem.Or perhaps his next gig should  be in Sweden — the only western European nation to keep VAR out of its top flight.Or in Norway, who may scrap it due to widespread fan opposition — with matches having been delayed by irate supporters throwing pastries, fishcakes and tennis balls on to pitches in protests against VAR.By common consent, the  Scandinavians are beautiful and enlightened people.As O’Neil would doubtless agree.VILL TO WINHOW would Aston Villa deal with the twin demands of the Premier League and Champions League, we all asked?By scoring impressive wins in their first two fixtures back in the European elite and achieving their best start to a top-flight campaign this century.And, with Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings returning from long-term injuries and skipper John McGinn back from a month on the sidelines, things promise to get better still.Unai Emery is, pound for pound, the best manager in the top flight.Aston Villa have enjoyed a fantastic startCredit: GettyHOWE ABOUT THATHAD Eddie Howe left Newcastle in the summer, he would almost certainly have been Gareth Southgate’s successor — ending debate about whether the England boss should be English.Now with the Toon in midtable  — and Chelsea and Arsenal next up —  might Howe become available before Thomas Tuchel even starts work?England outperformed Germany in four tournaments under Southgate.But when it comes to coaching and management, the Germans still hold sway. See, for example, Brighton’s child genius Fabian Hurzeler getting the better of Howe on Saturday.Eddie Howe was not contacted about the England jobCredit: GettySQUAD DEPTHHOW is the five-sub rule affecting Premier League football? It is leading to far more comeback wins and, as predicted, giving more advantage to bigger clubs with deeper squads.Last season provided an all-time high of 63 comeback wins in the top flight (16.5 per cent).This year we’re at more than 21 per cent.Of the weekend’s nine top-flight fixtures, five were won by the team conceding first,  including both Manchester clubs, Tottenham and Aston Villa.NO WAY, JOSEAS Erik ten Hag limps grimly on as Manchester United manager, a party of Mancunian old-boys lie in wait in Istanbul for Thursday’s Europa League visit to Fenerbahce.Not just boss Jose Mourinho but also ex-United players Sofyan Amrabat and Fred  as well as former City title-winning striker Edin Dzeko, 38.Lose to that little lot and it really will be “welcome to hell”.Man Utd will meet former manager Jose Mourinho this weekCredit: GettySTOP GUNSWILL Sir Keir Starmer’s beloved Arsenal miss out on the league title due to “indiscipline”, after already dropping seven points when reduced to ten men?We all know the best cure for indiscipline: mandatory National Service. As advocated by Rishi Sunak at the election. That would have taught ’em.READ MORE SUN STORIESBUNDLE OF JOYWHY are baby-related goal celebrations, like Liverpool’s Curtis Jones sucking his thumb and Bournemouth’s Justin Kluivert sticking a ball up his shirt, so irritating?Because they remind us Premier League stars are the only men in the country who can afford to have kids in their 20s.Curtis Jones celebrated his goal against Chelsea by sucking his thumbCredit: Getty More