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Football

01st Dec 2020

Jack Grealish: ‘Embarrassing’ VAR is ‘ruining the game’

Jack Grealish has said VAR is "ruining the game" following Aston Villa's late equaliser against West Ham being chalked off due to offside

Reuben Pinder

Grealish saying what we’re all thinking

Jack Grealish has said VAR is “ruining the game” of football, following another controversial decision that prevented his Aston Villa team from picking up a point against West Ham on Monday night.

Villa had been trailing 2-1 before appearing to equalise in the last minute thanks to an Ollie Watkins finish from six yards out.

But upon review, the goal was disallowed after Watkins, who was grappling with West Ham goalscorer Angelo Ogbonna, was judged to have been millimetres offside.

The decision provoked uproar from fans of all clubs, with many calling for VAR to be scrapped – or at least its implementation for such marginal offsides to be altered.

Villa captain Grealish was one of those people, tweeting after the game: “As for VAR, I’ve shared my views before and it’s now just getting borderline embarrassing with some of the decisions. Ruining the game.”

After the game, Sky pundit Jamie Carragher voiced his displeasure with the decision.

“If you actually look, it’s off his shirt. You think how long these shirts are? Would that have made a difference? Will we have to make them shorter?” Carragher pondered.

“He’s actually getting grappled by the defender. He’s trying to get off him, and the fact he’s trying to get off him means he’s offside”.