Mike Riley, the Referee’s chief, has admitted that Newcastle United’s equaliser in their last game should not have counted and that VAR should have disallowed the goal.
This was because the ball hit Isaac Hayden’s arm before it dropped to Fabian Schar who lashed the ball home.
The Premier League have admitted that Schar’s goal was one of four incidents that VAR has got wrong this season.
The others were Youri Tielemans’ stamp on Callum Wilson, David Silva’s penalty appeal against Bournemouth and Sebastian Haller’s penalty appeal in the Hammers’ match with Norwich City.
VAR has received some criticism, but many Newcastle fans will be pleased it failed to do its job in the Watford game in what could be a crucial point by the end of the season.
The actual issue with this Schar incident is the new handball rule – which states that if the ball hits the hand of an attacker, even if it is accidental, the goal must be ruled out.
VAR looked at the goal and decided it was fine. This obviously benefited the Toon, but there needs to be some clear guidelines from now on to ensure VAR benefits the Premier League and doesn’t hinder it.