How deliciously retro it was to spend Saturday evening in the company of Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Dion Dublin, each spearing the incompetence of officials. All that was missing was an episode of Til Death Us Do Part or It Ain’t Half Hot Mum to flood the night with 1970s vibes.
Before the adoption of technology the abuse of referees was a national pastime, rage pouring from the nation’s screens as pundits, aided by television replays, picked apart the errors that cost teams a goal, a player, a point.
Chris Kavanagh and his assistants didn’t have their best night at Villa Park, awarding an offside goal, missing an obvious handball penalty and electing not to cull Lucas Digne for a reckless tackle on Jacob Murphy. Predictably this boiled the bladders of the panel, Rooney insisting that Kavanagh’s failure to spot the handball, also involving Digne, was the worst decision he had ever seen.
Newcastle were denied a penalty as Lucas Digne appeared to commit a handball offence in the box
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 14, 2026
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Ten out of 10 for hyperbole, at least. You might have thought these horrors, brought into the light because VAR is switched off during the FA Cup third and fourth rounds, might have been cause to acknowledge the efficacy of the much derided tool and end for all time the pushback against it.
The case for VAR was made in television studios long before its widespread introduction seven years ago, when Match of the Day replays would routinely expose mistakes made in precisely the way we witnessed at Villa Park. That it took until 2019 to trust the same technology in real time remains a mystery.
Yet even now, the history boys in the studio refuse to set romance aside, choosing instead to highlight not the improved accuracy of decision making under VAR but how the adoption of it has degraded the capacity of referees to officiate reliably.
“If you ever needed any evidence of the damage that VAR has done to referees, I think today is a great example,” Shearer said, channeling the solemn gravitas of a church sermon.
“These guys look petrified to make a decision today because they didn’t have a comfort blanket. I would just like the officials to do the jobs properly.”
Sandro Tonali equalises for Newcastle against Aston Villa, moments after they were denied a penalty for a Lucas Digne handball
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 14, 2026
So it is VAR’s fault for making referees worse as well as destroying the ancient rhythms of the game. Thank heavens Newcastle United won. Even in victory Eddie Howe was conflicted.
“I’m always torn on VAR because I love the raw emotion when a goal goes in and you don’t see a flag or hear a whistle and you know the goal is going to stand and nobody can take it away from you.
“On the other side of that, I was wishing there was VAR for the goal they scored, and probably throughout the entire game.”
Of course you were, Eddie, because however imperfect the system is, the margin for error is way smaller with VAR. Self-evidently accuracy trumps mistakes. Accepting illegitimate goals in the name of romance is next level machine-breaking and emphatically not in the best interests of the game.
Newcastle were not the only team to bemoan the absence of VAR. Omar Marmoush scored one to show the grandchildren to put Manchester City two up against Salford City, only for his goal to be incorrectly ruled offside. The game would become surprisingly and uncomfortably tight for City in the second half until Antoine Semenyo finished it off.
The issue with VAR has never been about accuracy but its application and the unintended consequences of microscopic decision-making. It is clear fractional interventions are a mistake and can be easily righted by accepting that a toe nail or any other body part the wrong side of the line confers no advantage on the scorer.
Arsene Wenger’s suggestion that a goal shall stand should any part of the body be inline with the defender as opposed to being in advance of it is the most sensible suggestion and presently undergoing trials in Canada. Yes the calculation still comes down to a drawn line but defaulting the rearmost part of the striker’s anatomy instead of the foremost appeals to common sense by making any advantage obvious.
I am sure Shearer and Co would accept that. Or maybe not.
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