“You’re losing the raw emotion of the game we absolutely love…”
Fulham manager Scott Parker has said that VAR is “killing” the excitement of football after his side were denied an equaliser during their game with Tottenham on Thursday night.
Spurs won the game thanks to an own goal from Tosin Adarabioyo, but it seemed for a matter of seconds in the second half that Parker’s relegation battlers were on course to rescue a point.
Josh Maja fired home when the ball fell to him inside the area, only for a VAR review to find the ball was struck against the arm of Mario Lemina in the buildup.
Lemina had his arm by his side, the ball was smashed against it from point blank range and the referee and officials failed to notice this in real time. But having been alerted to this by the VAR officials, the referee decided that, after a brief check of the incident on the pitch side monitor, the goal would not be given.
While Parker acknowledged the decision was correct in accordance with the laws of the game (which in itself is ridiculous), it was clear the decision would not have been made but for the presence of VAR.
“I understand why the goal wasn’t given tonight,” Parker said after the game. “That’s the rule. I don’t agree with that rule because, looking at it, I don’t know what else he could’ve physically done.
“If it doesn’t his his arm, it hits his side. But like I say, I’m not complaining about that. The referee’s acted to the law…”
Continuing, Parker reiterated his stance on VAR.
“We’re trying to make the game so pure and so sterile and trying to control every single phase and every single moment to an absolute T. That’s where the problem lies for me, really.
“What we want to see as fans and spectators is goals and excitement and I’m sorry to say that VAR is killing every bit of that.
“No longer do you celebrate a goal. Why? Because you’re hanging on, thinking it might be disallowed.
“You’re losing the raw emotion of the game we absolutely love.
“It’s a shame and my opinion on this has not changed. My opinion has always stood for this in terms of how I see VAR.
“I always knew along the way that experiences people face… will only have damning effects. We get to a point where there’s going to be no emotion.”
🗣️ "VAR is killing every bit of it. You no longer celebrate a goal"
Scott Parker opens up on how he believes VAR is ruining how fans enjoy football pic.twitter.com/v8BH7byDcT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 4, 2021
