The video assistant referee has once again caused controversy in the Premier League after two penalties were waved off in the Manchester City and Tottenham games.
Manchester City captain David Silva was not awarded a penalty after he made contact with Bournemouth’s Jefferson Lerma in the early game on Sunday while Tottenham captain Harry Kane was denied a penalty after he was brought down in the Newcastle box by defender Jerome Lascelles in the late afternoon game.
The VAR was introduced this season to provide a way for “clear and obvious errors” and “serious missed incidents” to be corrected but former Newcastle United manager Graeme Souness highlights that the system still ultimately relies on human decision making.
“I think VAR will help us in the long term,” Souness said on Sky Sports.
“It still comes down to a human making that decision. For me, if I’m in that situation, I’m not calling that a penalty [Kane v Lascelles]. For me the ball is slipped in by Harry Winks and I think Lascelles is on his heels a wee bit and Harry knows that Lascelles is capable of getting a block in so he goes ‘I’m going to shoot here and I’m going to get it across the goalkeeper.
“I think he’s trying to buy himself a yard, half a yard, by leaning in a bit, he’s going to get Lascelles to check his stride and then he’s going to lash it. I think Lascelles is falling and Harry is losing balance at the same time.”
