VAR has been in the spotlight this week, following a weekend of controversy. And although Nottingham Forest were not directly affected on this occasion, a report has suggested how they can have plenty of cause for complaint when it comes to the technology.
Errors made in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brentford and Crystal Palace’s stalemate with Brighton and Hove Albion had significant consequences. VAR Lee Mason failed to spot an offside in the build-up to the Bees’ equaliser at the Emirates Stadium, while Brighton wrongly had a goal disallowed when the offside lines were drawn against the wrong defender.
The mistakes prompted Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer at Professional Game Match Officials Limited, to contact the Gunners and the Seagulls to acknowledge and explain them. Webb then called a meeting of all Premier League officials at Stockley Park in the wake of the incidents as he sought to identify what went wrong. Mason has not been selected for VAR duty for the next round of Premier League fixtures.
READ MORE: Forest ace provides encouraging injury update
READ MORE: Forest already facing big transfer decisions ahead of summer window
Forest have been on the receiving end of plenty of contentious VAR decisions this season. And, according to Four Four Two, without VAR’s interference, they would be in the top half of the table.
It’s impossible to say for certain how the outcome of matches would be impacted, of course. But the numbers have been crunched based on “goal-deciding moments”. The report explains: “If a player was awarded a penalty by VAR and scored it, we've taken it off. If a player had a goal disallowed by VAR, we've added it. We can't do much more than that without things getting really technical.”
The table was put together before Liverpool’s derby win over Everton on Monday night. But here’s how Four Four Two say it would look without VAR.
1 Arsenal - 53 points
2 Manchester City - 48 points
3 Manchester United - 44 points
4 Newcastle United - 42 points
5 Brighton and Hove Albion - 39 points
6 Tottenham Hotspur - 39 points
7 Brentford - 34 points
8 Fulham - 33 points
9 Chelsea - 31 points
10 Nottingham Forest - 27 points
11 Crystal Palace - 25 points
12 Leicester City - 24 points
13 Liverpool - 24 points
14 Aston Villa - 24 points
15 Wolverhampton Wanderers - 23 points
16 Leeds United - 22 points
17 West Ham United - 22 points
18 Everton - 20 points
19 Bournemouth - 19 points
20 Southampton - 16 points
Mason was in the seat at Stockley Park during Forest’s controversial draw with Brentford in November. The Reds had three penalty appeals turned down, only to see their opponents given a spot-kick for a similar level of contact in the box after Mason told on-field referee Andrew Marriner to look at the monitor. The injustice left Forest fans furious.
Meanwhile, Reds head coach Steve Cooper was charged by the Football Association in October over comments about referee Thomas Bramall after the 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux. The match was decided by a Ruben Neves penalty which was awarded after Bramall went to his pitchside monitor, following a lengthy VAR check, with Harry Toffolo penalised for a handball. A similar incident in the first half had seen nothing given when a Neco Williams shot was blocked.
Are you a fan of VAR? Have your say in the comments below
READ NEXT
