He borrowed Paul Merson’s glasses to get his point across.
You would think that Jeff Stelling has seen just about everything there is to see in his years of covering football, but after VAR denied Brighton a penalty against Norwich, it was just too much for the presenter.
Neal Maupay was clipped by Tim Krul in the box, and the VAR replay confirmed as much, but referee Graham Scott, still decided against giving them the spot kick.
Stelling reacted by taking the glasses off his colleague, Paul Merton, and waving them at the camera, in a sensational rant about the referee and VAR.
“Graham Scott… I mean seriously, seriously? You can see he has clipped Maupay!
“You have the VAR! You have seen it about 10 times. How can you not see, that he has clipped him?
“There Merse’s glasses by the way, he’s now missed three goals!
“I mean seriously… I just… what’s the point in VAR if you can’t see that, seriously?”
"How can you not see that he has clipped him!?" 👓#BHAFC think they should have a penalty against Norwich – Jeff clearly thinks they have a point! 😂 pic.twitter.com/SEq2hTZXro
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 16, 2021
The presenter keeps repeating the word “seriously” as the decision has clearly made him lost for words, but he definitely gets his point across.
The question he raises about VAR, and what it’s actual point is, if not to spot these mistakes, is particularly accurate. The inclusion of the video replays was to prevent mistakes like these from happening.
Maybe a new pair of glasses, as suggested by Stelling, is just what the match officials need.
