In a statement released by the PGMOL (Professional Games Match Official) they have admitted that the disallowed goal at St James’ Park on Saturday should have stood.
Along with the controversial decision to rule out a goal for West Ham, the PGMOL are using the incidents to improve officiating going forward saying:
“We will fully co-operate and collaborate with the Premier League and their request to review these two particular incidents, using the outcome as part of the ongoing assessment of weekly performances and the development of our match officials going forward.”
So yeah, that’s great that they admit that they got it wrong, but Newcastle lost two points because of that error, and West Ham lost one.
An admission of guilt and a hollow promise of being better is a good first step, but it does nothing to help those clubs who are losing points because of this shocking decision-making.
Obviously, they can’t just wave a magic wand and give us the points we’ve dropped, I know that, nor would it be fair to make the teams play in a replay, especially if that replay results in a win for Palace, then we lose three points instead of two. There really isn’t anything they can do other than getting it right at the time, that’s what they’re paid for, that’s why they’re there and that’s what VAR was brought in for – to make such terrible decisions a thing of the past, not make them even worse.
What is still baffling, regarding the Newcastle incident, is why VAR didn’t show the referee the reverse angle of the incident. That angle clearly shows the push in Willock’s back. If the ref sees that then he sticks with his original decision. It just seemed like the whole thing was orchestrated by those in the VAR room to ensure that the ref ruled out the goal.
Hopefully, this weekend is a catalyst for a massive review of how games are officiated in future and how VAR is utilised and maybe shines a spotlight on how and why those decisions were made.
Its a stitch up to make sure no one breaks into top 6 other than the big guns