Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett slams the use of VAR in England after controversial weekend
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Updated 05/09/2022 at 10:35 GMT
Ruled out goals for West Ham, Newcastle and Aston Villa have once again brought the use of VAR in the Premier League under the spotlight. Each decision would have proved game changing, with the PGMOL accepting the incidents need to be looked at closely. Former referee Keith Hackett says the way VAR is used "needs to be rectified now", with some fans claiming the game is becoming 'corrupt'.
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The former general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has slammed the way VAR is being used in English football after one of the most controversial weekends since its inception.
Keith Hackett - who was part of the initial line-up of referees in the Premier League - says “a pig’s ear” is being made of the technology.
West Ham were denied a dramatic late equaliser against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, when Maxwel Cornet's effort was ruled out after Jarrod Bowen was judged to have fouled goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the build-up.
West Ham manager David Moyes called the decision "scandalous", while their captain Declan Rice tweeted three times about the incident following the match, saying the system is a “shambles” and called it “one of the worst VAR decisions made”.
Meanwhile, Newcastle thought they had scored what would have been a winner in their goalless draw against Crystal Palace, only for a VAR intervention to end their celebrations.
Manager Eddie Howe called it a “perfectly good goal”, which saw Palace defender Tyrick Mitchell turn the ball into his own net, only for his blushes to be saved by an apparent foul by Joe Willock on goalkeeper Vicentre Guaita.
Those two incidents are being investigated by the PGMOL following a request from the Premier League - with the referees’ body accepting the decisions were controversial.
Elsewhere, Leeds were denied a penalty against Brentford and Phiippe Countinho’s goal for Aston Villa against Manchester City was ruled out after the assistant referee incorrectly flagged for offside. VAR was unable to overturn the decision as the whistle was blown before the ball hit the net.
Reflecting on the raft of incidents across England’s top flight, Hackett said: “At the end of the day these were incorrect calls and the focus should be on how the VAR panel are being managed and how VAR is not operating in this country. We are in the fourth season of using VAR in the Premier League and we are making a pig’s ear of it.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Hackett went on to say, "If we go down the list there’s quite a few errors this weekend.”
"There was an error when the VAR intervened when Michael Oliver, our number one referee, in a great position said ‘that’s a penalty kick’ – why does VAR have to intervene?” he said.
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Hackett praised the way Oliver dealt with that particular incident in Nottingham Forest’s match with Bournemouth.
"He has got the decision right and great credit to Michael Oliver, to go to the screen and be one of the very few referees to say get lost, I am staying with my decision and of course we have the correct outcome."
Hackett admits the current level of refereeing does not bode well for the future.
"I don’t have a problem with the VAR panel having two or three ex-players trained up to actually input into the decision making process because at the moment it is awful and it’s having a knock-on effect, making life very difficult for referees at grassroots level when they see their senior colleagues fouling up in such a bad way", he said.
Hackett worries about the way errors are being perceived by football fans, saying: "It’s not just the decision on the field, it’s the impact on spectators who are now saying to me the game is corrupt.
"The game is not corrupt, what we have is we have a poor delivery of VAR in this country that needs to be rectified now – not in December when Howard Webb takes over. What happened on Saturday was horrendous."
It’s not just in the Premier League where the PGMOL have problems to address, after goalline technology failed to work in the English Football League in the latest round of games.
The EFL has released a statement saying they are “incredibly frustrated” after Huddersfield were denied a valid equaliser in their 1-0 defeat against Blackpool in the Championship.
Yuta Nakayama slid the ball just over the line, but referee John Busby ruled it had not gone in, with goalline technology backing up his decision.
It has since transpired that the ball was not being tracked by the technology, and with officials unsighted due to player obstruction, a goal was unable to be awarded.
A full investigation into the incident is expected to take place.
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