"If there had been VAR, I don't think there's even a one percent chance that goal would have stood." In the wake of Sunderland's defeat against Sheffield United Tony Mowbray found himself yet again reluctantly cast in the all-too familiar role of a man who does not want to complain about officials, left complaining about officials.
And, yet again, he had a point. Or rather his team didn't, and that was the problem.
VAR has its own issues, but if it had been in operation at the Stadium of Light last night, Tommy Doyle's winning goal would not have been disallowed for offside. There would have been no need for the VAR to draw parallel lines to separate Sunderland defender Danny Batth and Sheffield United's Sander Berge as the latter tried unsuccessfully to reach Doyle's free-kick, but if he had, you could have driven a double-decker bus between them.
