Premier League admit to glaring VAR blunders for Man Utd, Tottenham

The Premier League has admitted that incorrect penalty decisions were made by the video assistant referee in all three of Thursday’s games.

The Premier League has told BBC Match of the Day that Manchester United and Southampton should not have been given penalties, but Tottenham should have been awarded one.

Bruno Fernandes won a spot-kick, which he scored in Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa, after colliding with Ezri Konsa.

James Ward-Prowse hit the bar after Saints were awarded a disputed penalty in the draw with Everton.

While Tottenham should have had a penalty for a blatant Joshua King shove on Harry Kane in a 0-0 draw with Bournemouth.

And the Premier League have said all three decisions were wrong.

Villa boss Dean Smith alluded to referees not knowing the game, when he was asked his thoughts on Fernandes’ penalty call at Villa Park.

He branded it a “disgraceful decision” and said: “How someone in the studio who had the view I had only once can make that decision is beyond me. Five minutes after the game the 100 messages I’ve had from people who have watched it telling me it’s a disgraceful decision tells me my feelings were right.

“I went down to the dugout and saw it on the camera and thought it would be overturned straight away. Anyone in football knows Fernandes is trying the dragback, he puts his foot on the ball and stands on Ezri.”

 

 

Jon Moss gave United a 27th-minute spot-kick, even though Fernandes appeared to tread on Konsa and the decision was rubber stamped by VAR official Graham Scot.

 

It needs a player on VAR

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Tim Cahill, a Match of the Day pundit, said a former player should be involved to work alongside the VAR officials at Stockley Park.

“I think that would really help them, to understand the movements,” he said.

“When a player falls to buy a penalty you can feel it. It must need a player there to give advice on what the player is doing.

“They’re there to make the big decisions and they can’t do it. It’s really disappointing.”

Many fans and pundits alike have questioned why referees do not use the monitors at the side of the pitch to clarify decisions, but referees’ chief Mike Riley has limited the use of monitors to not slow the game down.