Rules expert Dale Johnson has slammed the use of VAR during Manchester City's Carabao Cup game against Newcastle United. That said, he reveals that the officials did eventually get the decision correct.
Antoine Semenyo had given Pep Guardiola's team the lead on just his second appearance for the club and looked to have scored a second when he flicked in a clever finish on the volley. However, referee Chris Kavanagh was told to pause the game amid VAR concerns over a possible offside.
After a lengthy delay, Kavanagh was told to go to the monitor to make a call on a 'subjective offside'. Looking through a crowd of players, it was ultimately decided that Erling Haaland’s right boot was offside and interfering with play, preventing Nick Pope and Malick Thiaw from stopping the shot.
In the end, the call didn't prevent City from coming away with the win, as Rayan Cherki netted in injury time to seal a 2-0 lead ahead of the second semi-final match on 4 February. Even so, the call led to much confusion.
Dale Johnson Unhappy With Time Spent on Newcastle vs Man City VAR Call
Johnson, who works for BBC Sport, wrote on his social media account, explaining his issues with the officiating. He said:
"That was the correct offside decision but 5 minutes and 30 seconds was ridiculous."
He added: "The problem is that if this was a goal no one would really spot the offside.It's a technical, unseen offside that disallows a goal which is almost exclusively given through VAR. A decision being right doesn't necessary mean it's what the game wants."
The VAR’s decision was to call Kavanagh over to the pitchside monitor to view the incident and make a decision on the ‘speculative offside’. The referee
announced the decision to the stadium, saying: “After review, Manchester City number nine is in an offside position that impacts the ability of the defender so the decision is offside.”
More to follow...