Long delays, irate managers and mixed messages - is VAR bad for game?

"It took more than two minutes to cancel Manchester United's penalty against Fulham and change it to a free-kick. Almost three and a half minutes were lost when the VAR ruled out a Fulham goal for offside. Aston Villa's disallowed goal against Brentford only came about after a four-minute stoppage. Long delays, mixed messages and irate managers have been the story of the day. As has been the case on too many occasions."

"The problem is, as is usually the way with VAR, everyone was kept in the dark and left guessing. Including, it seems, Fulham boss Marco Silva. Logic often ends up being replaced by claims of some kind of conspiracy. Referee John Brooks gave a penalty for Jorge Cuenca pulling Matheus Cunha's shirt, believing it had continued into the box. Yet most people watching the game would have assumed it was given for Cuenca's tackle on Cunha."

VAR produced several correct interventions during the Premier League matches but created lengthy stoppages that disrupted the spectacle. Multiple incidents required reviews lasting two to four minutes, including a cancelled Manchester United penalty and a ruled-out Fulham goal for offside. The delays generated mixed messages, confusion among officials and managers, and accusations of conspiracy. A specific incident saw a penalty given for a shirt pull that many observers believed was for a tackle, and the fourth official reportedly communicated different information to Fulham's boss. The trade-off between decision accuracy and game flow remains contentious.

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