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Pellegrini says VAR is making football ‘more fair’

Manuel Pellegrini has said that VAR will ultimately make football ‘more fair’ for everyone, despite the initial backlash over the system’s use.

Premier League fans are still getting used to the newly introduced Video Assistant Referee system, which has already caused plenty of talking points.

The most high profile incident involving VAR saw Man City‘s late winner against Spurs chalked off as the video ref spotted the ball brush against Aymeric Laporte’s arm before Gabriel Jesus netted what he thought was the winner.

In line with the new rules, the goal was chalked off, but West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini thinks that the technology will only make it ‘more fair,’ although the Chilean doesn’t want to see its use extended beyond its current remit.

“It’s difficult. It’s not the same, the emotion and the moment for the fans – they must wait to see if it’s a goal or not a goal – but it’s more fair,” Pellegrini said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Hammers game against Watford.

“It’s impossible for the referee, with the speed that the players play at, to be in the correct position. After that you compare the referee with eight cameras.

“I think VAR will be more fair for results if we don’t use it every time. There are situations that you can find a lot of different things – in corners you can find four penalties in each corner.

“But for offside it’s good for referees, and if a foul is inside the box or outside the box, and if there a hand or no hand.

“You can’t avoid all the mistakes of football because it’s impossible, but if you can avoid three or four big mistakes in a game, it will be more fair.”

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