Journalist Henry Winter of The Times has shared his thoughts on VAR disqualifying a late goal that would have given West Ham a Premier League victory over Aston Villa on his official X account.
Winter has voiced his opinion after the decision-making process took almost six minutes, which has already drawn criticism from talkSPORT analyst Andy Townsend.
The Hammers managed to draw with Villa, but at the end of the match, it appeared as though we had stolen the victory.
The right choice was taken when the ball ricocheted off Tomas Soucek’s arm and was eventually bundled home by Jarrod Bowen.
Winter has since made reference to the fact that the decision that infuriated so many people was the length of time that it took to make it.
Henry Winter lets rip at West Ham vs Aston Villa VAR decision
What transpired at the London Stadium yesterday afternoon obviously made Winter very, very upset.
The Times reporter called the VAR officiating “embarrassing” on his official X account this morning:
Winter is completely accurate in this regard. The ball struck Soucek’s arm before Bowen nodded in, as almost every West Ham supporter will acknowledge.
Nonetheless, the fact that it took the referees over six minutes to make a determination indicates that Jarred Gillett’s mistake in awarding the goal was not “clear and obvious.”
If we’re ever going to get to a point where VAR is used correctly, we need more prominent people like Henry Winter to publicly criticize the technology—or more specifically, the officiating behind it.
At the end of the season, perhaps, the authorities will address the obvious shortcomings in English officiating so that VAR can be utilized to advance the sport rather than impede it.
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The BBC Sport writer Phil McNulty was infuriated by West Ham’s involvement in a protracted VAR judgment during their match against Aston Villa.
On Sunday, March 17, the Hammers believed they had defeated Villa with a late goal thanks to midfield maestro Tomas Soucek.
However, a protracted VAR review disqualified the goal for handball, and the London Stadium game ended in a 1-1 draw.
“Please don’t make me get on my soapbox this early,” McNulty said in response to a question during a BBC Sport Q&A about why it took so long for VAR to cancel the goal. Since there is so much interference during games and we frequently experience delays like we did at West Ham, I’m pretty much done with VAR as it is now implemented in this nation.
Additionally, it is a terrible experience for fans because there are constant delays and nobody knows what is going on. What became of evident and unambiguous? Nowadays, it almost seems like we are always looking for ways to prevent goals, which takes away a lot of the fun from the game for both players and, most importantly, spectators.
“I would be happy to see semi-automated offside and goal-line technology until the system is utilised better.”
West Ham fans rage at VAR decision v Aston Villa
Not just McNulty is displeased with the decision made at the London Stadium; the home crowd is incensed at the VAR’s conclusion, in part because it took so long.
The officials’ decision, which kept the Hammers from winning with a spectacular late-game comeback, infuriated both manager David Moyes and his players.
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With just over ten minutes remaining, Nicolo Zaniolo scored for the visitors, but Michail Antonio gave the hosts the lead with an incredible header just before the half-hour mark.
After that, in stoppage time, Soucek put the ball in the back of the net, but it was disallowed. Shortly after the interval, the home team had another goal disallowed for handball, with Antonio the perpetrator.
Given how they had both played in Europe on Thursday, it was undoubtedly an action-packed match that both teams would have been satisfied with a point. (14 March)
