Refs & VAR 2021/22

sullydnl

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Are they just extra reluctant to overrule the on field refs this season? Atkinson putting in an absolute stinker and backed up by VAR!?
Yes, basically. A combination of them being told not to intervene as much and the standard for what is a penalty being higher this season (in that if there's contact it has to be enough to actually cause the attacking player to go down the way he does, rather than minimal contact followed by an exaggerated fall being enough).

None of that explains the second Ronaldo incident though which looked a stonewall penalty (albeit I only saw it once).
 

Mike Smalling

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Did anyone see the penalty called against Vestergaard in the Brighton-Leicester game? Complete joke. He was so obviously fouled. I don't know what VAR is for anymore. Went from changing everything, to not being used when it should be.
 

VinzentFTW

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Aktison must hate Ronaldo ?
Don't get rid of VAR, it is not a fecking AI who is making wrong decisions. It is simply incompetent referees sitting there (and in the pitch too).

Keep VAR and get better referees. Add consequences to shit refereeing. Cases like Zouma's incident in Ronaldo could have been tolerated before cause the ref might miss them, but right now it is simply inexcusable. Based on that case alone, the VAR referee of today should be demoted for a few matches. Next time, he might bother calling the ref for a check when something similar happens.
Getting better referees wont happend. They all suck in PL.
 

POF

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Ronaldo could have easily avoided it if we wanted to, he was looking for it. The ball also was arguably already out of play, which nowadays matters (under the 'consequence' part).
It always mattered. You can't give a foul if the ball is dead. But the ball wasn't out of play for either incident. Not even close.

Both absolute 100% penalties every day of the week. Best case, it was extreme negligence by the officials.
 

Irwin99

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The first two penalty calls were right in my opinion; they'd be very soft. The Zouma challenge though was as clear as day and should have at least been looked at :houllier:. I thought the Shaw one was a penalty too.
 

SadlerMUFC

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I am so confused over what a foul is and what isn't. No complaint about their penalty. Shaw's arm is out. But how on Earth is that not a foul on Ronaldo? That was as blatant a foul as it gets. VAR has gone from one extreme to another. Where's the common sense? There would be absolutely no controversy had Atkinson called the penalty against Ronaldo. Thankfully we took matters into our own hand and best West Ham and the ref...
 

DWelbz19

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This new “fast VAR” is obviously a crock of shit. They probably don’t even watch the replays and just go with what the ref said.
 

Champ

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Absolute shocking decisions from Atkinson and VAR today.
Should have had two penalties at least, and the handball was very harsh.
 

BusbyMalone

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Genuinely, what the feck happened here today?

For all the criticisms of the ref (and they're justified criticisms, by the way - an appalling performance by him) how the hell was none of those referred to VAR? I don't get it. They were blatant pens. They were mistakes by the ref that VAR was supposed to correct by intervening.
 

VivaRonaldo85

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One day these decisions are overruled (City game), the next day they are barely checked and ignored. Then a missed handball is checked presumably because it’s matter of fact rather than referees decision? I’m not totally anti VAR but I just don’t get its application. It’s a mess.
 

Maagge

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First Ronaldo challenge wasn't a penalty and this Shaw handball was.

The second penalty call for us is the problem. Looked a definite penalty to me.
The annoying thing with the Shaw one is that we had a similar enough penalty shout against Newcastle which wasn't even reviewed. It's so inconsistent.
 

stevoc

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If VAR review that last foul on Ronaldo and deem it not a penalty then VAR is pointless.

Seems like the guidance this season is give United nothing this season after all the bitching about the penalties we got last season.
 

charlenefan

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That was the worst officiating appointment against us for quite a while
 

bond19821982

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Absolute shocking decisions from Atkinson and VAR today.
Should have had two penalties at least, and the handball was very harsh.
The handball wasn't harsh and it was the right call but God, how the feck did they miss 2 penalties.
 

NinjaZombie

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Absolute shocking decisions from Atkinson and VAR today.
Should have had two penalties at least, and the handball was very harsh.
Handball wasn't harsh. It was a handball. I knew once VAR was brought up, the decision would've been a penalty. Shaw's arm was up. A bit daft from him.

Ronaldo's first appeal was a penalty imo. Clearly his knee was hit. I think the way he fell anticipating that contact made the ref thought it wasn't one.
 

predator

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Surprised if ole doesn't call then out in his interviews.

I just hope that this isn't going to be the story of our season. Refs must think ronaldo is always trying it on. He does a bit to be fair but when there are genuine fouls they get overlooked. This is very poor refereeing.
 

Sanchez7

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Wow, just seen the highlights of the Brighton game. We were robbed a pen but Leicester had two seemingly fine goals disallowed and a clear foul not given against them for Brighton's goal. Some shocking stuff at VAR HQ today.
 
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Media narrative as per usual, no mention of the Ronaldo pen appeal on BBC or Sky so far, despite it being seconds before the handball decision.

Pisses me off no end.
 

Polar

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The system practiced today is much worse than last year. We were robbed for two clear and obvious penalties. The referee didn’t even look at the monitor. VAR should have intervened. Today I feel sorry for both the referee and VAR.
 

Lentwood

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They rushed the 2nd Ronaldo appeal, that was the problem.

I'm all for speeding up VAR decisions but they barely glanced at it. One replay and everybody could see it's a stonewall penalty
 

Andycoleno9

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People need to realise how VAR works. VAR can overrule only blatant mistakes. If decision is 50:50 then decision stays.
Neither penalty was clear. So nothing to do with VAR. It is all on pathetic Atkinson's display.
 

redshaw

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Can you imagine the national outcry if that was West Ham being denied a pen? Where is the media to gaslight and incense everyone. Surely Richard Keys has weighed in heavily?

I don't think VAR can be used again this season for pens if that last one on Ronaldo wasn't given, or at least it shouldn't be.
 

Teja

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I don't get why they needed to change anything about refereeing for this season. Last season started off a bit nuts with the handballs and everythign but they worked out all the kinks in the system by midway and I thought refereeing in general second half of last season was quite good.

They should've just got rid of the ridiculous offside by a hair calls and just kept everything else as-is. First Rugby tackles are allowed now, they messed with VAR again, something about the intent of the challenge when considering if it was a foul in the box.

Crazy times.
 

90 + 5min

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As I said in other thread.

Unless referees and VAR-referees are told to explain every major decision in live TV after the game, this kind of stuff will keep going. There will never be a learning process. Today, you can always hide behind something. VAR can point at ref. And ref can point at VAR. But nobody will ever need to explain anything.
 

VeevaVee

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That was genuinely strange and very dodgy looking. The previous one not being checked (was soft in my mind, but should have been checked), then a stonewall one not being given. The sort of stuff that could be disastrous at the end of a season, if they'd then scored theirs.
 

Tony247

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That was genuinely strange and very dodgy looking. The previous one not being checked (was soft in my mind, but should have been checked), then a stonewall one not being given. The sort of stuff that could be disastrous at the end of a season, if they'd then scored theirs.
Exactly! Such decision could make a difference of fortune when there are so many teams fighting for the title.
 

Champ

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The handball wasn't harsh and it was the right call but God, how the feck did they miss 2 penalties.
I didn't say it was the wrong call, I just said it was harsh, Shaw was two foot away and the ball hits his arm, could have gone either way as the ref originally deemed it not a pen.

But yeah, definitely confused by VAR not picking up on the penalty claims.
 

arnie_ni

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I don't get why they needed to change anything about refereeing for this season. Last season started off a bit nuts with the handballs and everythign but they worked out all the kinks in the system by midway and I thought refereeing in general second half of last season was quite good.

They should've just got rid of the ridiculous offside by a hair calls and just kept everything else as-is. First Rugby tackles are allowed now, they messed with VAR again, something about the intent of the challenge when considering if it was a foul in the box.

Crazy times.
We were awarded to many pens so they had to change the rules.

80 percent tongue in cheek.
 

Bobski

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Too much of a reaction to last year? They were giving everything in the first few months last season, after excruciatingly long delays looking for any minuscule contact.

I am happier with a lighter VAR touch TBH.
 

Flytan

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It's kind of a harsh penalty on Shaw but I understand why it was given. Ronaldo's 1st and 3rd shouts should have both been given. Especially the 3rd.
 

Amarsdd

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Too much of a reaction to last year? They were giving everything in the first few months last season, after excruciatingly long delays looking for any minuscule contact.

I am happier with a lighter VAR touch TBH.
Even when its making more incorrect decisions than last year? a few of them quite blatant as well.
 

Bobski

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Even when its making more incorrect decisions than last year? a few of them quite blatant as well.
If it is a choice between this year or last then I take this every time. Ideally we find a balance, but I would query if the decisions last year have changed perceptions on what a foul is, today might be an anomaly, but in most match threads you have people screaming pens for totally innocuous stuff.
 

acnumber9

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He could easily have avoided it but you could say the same about most fouls. He doesn't have to avoid an outstretched leg that's blocking him, it was a clear foul, anywhere else on the pitch it would have been given.
We seen Atkinson give a free kick for Zouma trying to go over Pogba’s leg and failing.
 

Amarsdd

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If it is a choice between this year or last then I take this every time. Ideally we find a balance, but I would query if the decisions last year have changed perceptions on what a foul is, today might be an anomaly, but in most match thread you have people screaming pens for totally innocuous stuff.
The point of VAR is to get the decisions correct. From that pov, I'd rather have what we had as VAR in the second half of last season than what it is now. There's no point of a VAR system if your priority is faster decisions rather than correct decisions.
 

dannyrhinos89

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Just seen the highlights of Brighton vs Leicester and they were completely robbed by VAR and officials

Brendan Rodgers, players and their fans should be fuming.