Newcastle's goal was given after a lengthy VAR check
Newcastle's goal was given after a lengthy VAR check
Semi-automatic offside technology was down and unable to provide a judgment on whether Nick Woltemade was offside for his second goal against . Instead, a lengthy stoppage was required as VAR attempted to work out if his effort should count.
The German striker, who scored an own goal against last week, attempted to quickly redeem himself against the Blues. Woltemade first opened the scoring after just four minutes before seeing his second celebration placed on pause.
Former academy product Lewis Hall found Anthony Gordon on the left flank, and the England international cut onto his right foot to deliver a teasing inswinging ball. Woltemada got ahead of Wesley Fofana before delivering an accomplished first-time finish.
There was frustration from players and supporters alike as Woltemade was forced to wait to find out whether his strike counted.
TNT commentator Darren Fletcher said: "The semi-automated offside was down at that point so they didn't have that to lean on. Which would have speeded things up.
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hence it took Peter Bankes in the VAR room longer to work it out, so that's just a bit of an explanation, whether you like that kind of thing or not, that's the reason why it took longer."
Match Centre explained the delay in decision in more detail. "The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Woltemade in an onside position," they said.
"Due to technical issues, Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) wasn't available during the VAR check. The VAR was required to manually construct lines in determining this decision."
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