Newcastle’s last-minute defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge yesterday was overshadowed by VAR’s failure to intervene in a couple of game-changing moments.
Goalscorer Kai Havertz could have been shown a red card for elbowing Dan Burn before Newcastle were denied a penalty after a foul on Jacob Murphy in the early-stages of the second-half.
Eddie Howe described the failure to let referee David Coote view the penalty incident again as ‘making a mockery of VAR’, with Alan Shearer branding the decision as ‘pathetic’.
The implementation of VAR has been controversial since its introduction into English football with every team feeling the effects of decisions made by the technology.
Using data provided by ESPN, here we have ranked how many decisions each Premier League side have had overturned against them by VAR this season:
(Note: this list only includes decisions that have been overturned - no ‘wrong’ subjective calls are included)
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5. Burnley: 3
VAR denied the Clarets a last-minute winner against Leicester City in September when Chris Wood’s goal was ruled out for offside. Photo: Clive Mason
6. Wolves: 4
Bruno Lage saw his team have two calls go against them during their clash with Crystal Palace in November when Wilfried Zaha’s goal was allowed to stand after being initially ruled offside before they were denied a penalty when VAR judged the incident to have taken place outside the area. Photo: Paul Harding
7. West Ham: 4
The last decision overturned by VAR to go against the Hammers came in December when Jarrod Bowen’s goal against Watford was chalked-off after a foul by Thomas Soucek in the build-up. Photo: IAN KINGTON
8. Tottenham Hotspur: 4
Spurs had two decisions overturned against them in their 3-2 victory over Manchester City last month. First, Harry Kane had a goal disallowed for offside before Riyad Mahrez converted a late penalty that looked denying Spurs all three points. Photo: Stu Forster