They used to say that VAR favoured the big fish in the football pond. Still, I was a bit dismissive of this notion until we played Manchester City at the Etihad last Saturday when it made me seriously question my views and the authenticity of all this scepticism. It was all about the penalty that never was and the penalty that was given.
At the last moment due to an injury sustained in the warm-up match referee, Michael Salisbury was withdrawn and in stepped, Sam Allison who at the best of times seems a bit indecisive when it comes to making good decisions. Once again, he bottled it and failed to give stonewall penalties to Manchester City and in the same half Ipswich. The difference was he was asked to go to VAR For the City one and then changed his mind, but not when Leif Davis was felled in the Citizens box, and play continued as if nothing had happened! It is this blatant inconsistency that I find inexcusable. They argue that the ball was out of play when they reviewed the City foul and it was not when the Ipswich player was felled. What has this got to do with it? Answer: Absolutely nothing.
What made matters worse is that with the new Premier League guidelines imposed, the referee was supposed to be more in control of on-field affairs, and if this had been the case then nobody would have complained. Two penalty appeals. Both were not given. Football can be a simple game but it is the football powers that be that try to complicate things. Now, I know what you are thinking. If we had got one and scored we would still have lost to one of the best club sides on the planet, and I have no reason to suspect otherwise. It is just the way we lost that grates with me.
The other aspect that annoys me here is how Match of the Day chooses to ignore this incident completely. It was aired again on Ref Watch on Sky, and Michael Keown and several others through media outlets boldly exclaimed the same. It was 100% a penalty and probably even more convincing than the one that City got! We have just arrived back in the top flight of English football and already it seems, we are playing on an uneven playing field. As Bill Shankly would often say, “It was a travesty of justice!”
Totally agree. Shameful re the MC foul on Leif. And silence all around afterwards except a handful of pundits.
Hi Phuket Pete. Are you part of the Tractor Boys ASIAN TOUR because I met a few of the Town boys over there last year. If you are not and want to meet up with them for games then Peter is the man to contact. It was a travesty that we were not awarded a pen but it is one rule for the big fish and another for the small fry.
The referee was Sam Allison, not Richard West. ,Likecyouvi always questioned the notion of bias towards thextopcteams, but am convinced now that its totally corrupt
Thanks CJ and I have corrected that now. I agree. It is totally corrupt and now sadly, we are the victims of it.
Utterly disgusting the way the on-field decision was overturned by VAR when there wasn’t even a foul. They are desperate to give it to Man City because they’re 1-0 down. Total nonsense when they talk about a “high bar” for overturning this year, they forgot to add unless it helps Man City. The decisions across the season and in previous seasons have favoured them for years, gifting em points and taking away from any competition.
Spot on Kim. It is a disgrace.