Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has defended ‘absolutely fantastic’ VAR after a weekend of controversy in the Premier League.
Manchester City were left angered after seeing a late Gabriel Jesus winner ruled out against Tottenham Hotspur, VAR spotting a handball by Aymeric Laporte in the build-up to the Brazilian’s disallowed strike.
The goal was ruled out due to changes in the handball law, which now state that any use of the hand in the lead up to a goal or goal scoring chance, intentional or otherwise, will be penalised.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher has launched a defence of VAR and says its usage at the weekend was ‘brilliant’, and says the player’s understanding of the new rule change is to blame for the confusion surrounding the goal.
“I think VAR has taken some unjust criticism,” Carragher told Sky Sports.
“I think in some cases it has been absolutely fantastic and a massive success and that was evident in what happened in the last minute at Man City.
“VAR was brilliant on this. If people have got a problem, it is with the law. I personally think handball should be disallowed if the person scores with the hand, not sets one up. But it is there in law. So that is VAR at its best,” the ex-England international added.
“It spots something that no-one else has spotted, that’s what it’s there for. Also a lot of the players coming out and saying ‘what is this rule? What if it hits the defender, does it count?’
“The players don’t know what’s going on and that’s because, you know when the referees come in to a meeting as they do every year, they (the players) are on the phones, they are not listening, they haven’t got a clue what the rules are. I was probably the same (as a player).
“We went to that meeting at Stockley Park, we were told about the handball rule. You may not agree with it but it is there as a rule and that for me is VAR at its best.”
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