Auwtch: The worst VAR blunders in Premier League history

Football has become accustomed to VAR these days, but the system is not without its flaws.

With the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) regularly issuing apologies for VAR blunders that ultimately cost teams crucial points, it’s no wonder managers and fans are frustrated.

VAR was supposed to solve mistakes in the Premier League, now a few years into the experiment, somehow the Video Assistant Referee has created more issues than it's solved, but what are the worst VAR blunders in the Premier League (so far)?

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Down by 1, United appeared to have equalised against Spurs as Edinson Cavani found the back of the net in the first moments of the second half. The only problem was United defender Scott McTominay’s arm touched the face of Tottenham forward Son Heung-min in the build-up. Incidental and accidental, the brush was deemed by VAR to be worthy of disallowing the goal.

Southampton escaped a penalty against Manchester City when VAR seemingly failed to pick up any foul play when goalkeeper Alex McCarthy took out Phil Foden in the box. Despite missing an obvious penalty, City would go on to win 5-2, so this didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Brighton’s Pervis Estupinan had a crucial goal disallowed in their 1-1 rout with Crystal Palace in February 2023 as he was deemed offside by VAR John Brooks. The issue? Brooks had drawn the offside lines incorrectly, and Estupinan was very much onside!

As Chelsea looked to hold onto a lead against a rising Tottenham, Cristian Romero held up Chelsea’s defence by grabbing Marc Cucurella's hair, ultimately allowing Harry Kane to score an equaliser. VAR didn’t spot what basically everyone else did, and the Blues were denied an important win over their rivals.

Wolves were denied a deserved a chance at 1-1 draw when Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic was basically punched in the face by United keeper Andre Onana as he attempted to collect a cross in the death of the match. An obvious infringement at any level, but one that would be missed by VAR. Wolves, no points.

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A relegation-threatened Everton received a dud call during a tough-fought rout with Manchester City. Down by 1, Everton were left frustrated as City Rodri ended up with the ball on his right arm – a clear handball –  in their penalty area. VAR couldn’t spot the glaring error and no penalty was awarded. 

During a fierce Merseyside Derby, Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford crashed into Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk while trying to stave off a corner. The obvious infringement left van Dijk with a season-ending cruciate ligament damage, but because Liverpool didn’t win the ball, VAR didn’t award a penalty and Pickford would stay on the pitch for the draw.

West Ham fans are still probably filthy about this one. As West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena cleared a ball away from a Chelsea’s looming Ben Chilwell, he lost his footing as the turf came out from under his planted foot. In the process, his kicking foot collided with Chilwell and was deemed by VAR to be an ‘excessive use of force’, and resulted in a red card. The game was won by Chelsea 0-1. 

Brentford’s Ivan Toney delivered a crucial goal to keep level with a title-chasing Arsenal, but there was just one issue - Christian Norgaard, who set up the goal, was offside. It seems VAR Lee Mason, who was the VAR for the match, forgot to draw the offside lines. While the error would cost him his job, it cost Arsenal a vital two points.

A "lapse of concentration and loss of focus" was said to be an issue in this turly bizarre VAR blunder, according to the PGMOL. After reviewing an onfield call of offside for a Luiz Diaz goal, the VAR team had spotted it was in fact onside and the goal should be allowed. However, VAR Darren England seemed to have misunderstood the situation and failed to overturn the decision. Yeah, it was weird.

Have we missed one you think should be in this list? Let us know in the comments!

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