EPL: FA told to mandate referees to use VAR for checking offsides alone

Former Tottenham star Jamie O’Hara has called on the English FA to limit the function of the Video Assistant Referee, VAR, to checking offsides alone.

Plenty of people are now fed up with technology, specifically the people making the decisions behind the cameras.

“Just use it for offsides! That’s black and white but the rest of it is so subjective,” he said on talkSPORT.

“I really felt for West Ham and the Newcastle one. Those decisions are a joke!”

To add to the controversies surrounding the VAR, Gabriel Martinelli’s efforts for Arsenal were disallowed, with Martin Odegaard adjudged to have fouled Christian Eriksen in the build-up to the goal during the Gunners 3-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

Before then, there have been a couple of controversies this weekend over scandalous errors from referees and VAR, notably from games between Everton and Liverpool, Chelsea vs West Ham United and Aston Villa vs Manchester City, and Newcastle vs Crystal Palace.