The legend Bob Marley used to sing about “war in the east, war in the west, war in the north, war in the south, yeah, everywhere is war…” But these days, everywhere is VAR.
Strap in because this is one of those days when we’re questioning technology, the game’s laws, the meaning of life, and everything in between. Because what else can you do when perfectly good goals are deemed invalid because of technology-driven decisions that don’t have anything to do with the game we love so much?!
This weekend alone, we’ve seen two goals denied after VAR reviews – one in the north of England, in Newcastle and one on the far south, in sunny Brighton. Newcastle fans and players were absolutely disgusted after they were denied the winning goal against Crystal Palace at St James’ Park and Brighton’s Argentinean midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was denied a contender for a goal of the season due to a fractional offside in the build-up. And while the decision in Newcastle meant the difference between winning in drawing, the one at Amex Stadium was less painful for Brighton, who rallied to a deserved 5-2 win over subpar Leicester.With the Sunday clash tied at 2-2 just a couple of minutes after the break, the Seagulls’ South American met a cleared free kick with a ferocious rocket from around 20 metres out. It should have been the best goal we’ve seen this season, but nitpicking men staring at big screens decided to take the goal away from Mac Allister – and from us.𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧 🚀 | Alexis Mac Allister hit this absolute beauty before it was disallowed by VAR for a marginal offside in the buildup. pic.twitter.com/qE31REapSj— FOOTBALL REQUIRED ⚽️ (@footballreq) September 4, 2022 However, Graham Potter’s men continued to push forward and secured the three points, leaving the Foxes worryingly winless after six Premier League matchdays. And, thankfully, Mac Allister got his name on the scoresheet later on when he converted a penalty to make it 4-2. He was given a chance to confirm his shooting prowess deep in added time and he passed the test with flying colours, netting a terrific free kick with the last action of the match to make it 5-2 the final score.Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester were the first to take the lead seconds into the game through Kelechi Iheanacho, but the home team managed to turn it around thanks to clumsy Luke Thomas own goal and a strike from Moises Caicedo.Brendan Rodgers has done a great job at Leicester since taking over, his squad needed a huge rebuild & the only signing they made was a replacement for their best defender.With that being said, there’s no semblance of structure whatsoever and his position is becoming untenable.— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) September 4, 2022 Patson Daka broke and finished off expertly from a fantastic Youri Tielemans pass on the half-hour, but that was as good as it got for the bottom-of-the-table Foxes.Even though VAR denied Mac Allister his wondergoal, Leandro Trossard and the aforementioned penalty gave Brighton a two-goal lead and ultimately the thoroughly deserved victory.Mr Rodgers will have a few sleepless nights as he continues to ponder his team’s terrible start this season, but the rest of us should really ask questions about VAR and its usage in the modern game.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 6SaturdayEverton – Liverpool 0-0Brentford – Leeds 5-2 (2-1)/Toney 30 pen, 43, 58, Mbeumo 80, Wissa 90+2 – Sinisterra 45+1, Roca 79/Chelsea – West Ham 2-1 (0-0)/Chilwell 76, Havertz 88 – Antonio 62/Newcastle – Crystal Palace 0-0Nottingham Forest – Bournemouth 2-3 (2-0)/Kouyate 34, Johnson 45+2 – Billing 51, Solanke 63, Anthony 87/Tottenham – Fulham 2-1 (1-0)/Hojberg 40, Kane 75 – Mitrovic 83/Wolves – Southampton 1-0 (1-0)/Podence 45+1/Aston Villa – Manchester City 1-1 (0-0)/Bailey 74 – Haaland 50/Sunday Brighton – Leicester 5-2 (2-2)/Thomas 10 og, Caicedo 15, Trossard 64, Mac Allister 71 pen, 90+7 – Iheanacho 1, Daka 33/18.30: (2.70) Man.Utd. (3.35) Arsenal (2.80)***odds are subject to change