MARK CLATTENBURG: VAR is scared to make fast calls… both decisions at West Ham were correct but judgement was needed far earlier
- Both VAR calls at West Ham were correct but it took too long to reach a decision
- The handball from Luton’s Teden Mengi was dealt with within 30 seconds
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Both VAR decisions at West Ham were correct because the ball touched the arm before going in the goal.
But five minutes is a long time in football. If you are looking at it for a minute, two minutes, and you haven’t made a decision, we need to move on.
PGMOL under Howard Webb have started to leave officials out of future appointment lists after making mistakes. His predecessor Mike Riley never did that publicly. Webb has, and the VARs now are so scared to make a mistake that they take as much time as they can.
The first decision — for Michail Antonio’s handball — was really difficult without a conclusive angle. The second one at the end, involving Tomas Soucek, should have been easier for the VAR to quickly rule out. Was it handball? Different angles suggested different things. The VAR was trying to find the best angle to give the right decision and that’s why there was such a delay.
Take the incident in Luton v Nottingham Forest, Teden Mengi’s clear handball. We moved on within 30 seconds. So why were we looking at the Soucek one for five minutes? Is the technology at fault or are the officials not being given the right angles? We need answers.
It was correct to rule out Tomas Soucek’s goal against Luton but the decision took too long
VAR also took too long to disallow Michail Antonio’s goal following the striker’s handball
The incident involving Luton defender Teden Mengi was dealt with within 30 seconds
