Manchester United secured a last-minute victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage, but once again, VAR played a significant role, and the decision to disallow the opening goal sparked outrage.
In the first ten minutes of the first half, Scott McTominay believed he had scored after converting Alejandro Garnacho’s cut-back.
However, VAR reviewed the play and ruled that Harry Maguire was offside, even though he didn’t play a role in the goal. This decision drew widespread criticism and was seen as the latest in a series of poor decisions against United.
BBC Pundit Chris Sutton expressed his disbelief, stating, “That’s a shocking decision to not award the goal…” on X during the game. Even Olympic gold medalist and United fan Usain Bolt couldn’t believe the decision, writing, “It’s like we can’t catch a break #sigh” on his X account.
The incident has strengthened the case for automated offside technology, as it’s puzzling that the Premier League continues to use this offside system when better alternatives are available.
Journalist Henry Winter also criticized the lengthy decision-making process, stating, “It’s not VAR that’s killing games. It’s the ridiculous amount of time taken. 4 mins for offside? A joke. It’s the absence of communication.
It’s the paucity of quality of too many officials. It’s an offense to fans who fork out fortunes. Btw semi-automated offside asap.”