In the sport of soccer, it is very normal for fans to be unhappy with the decisions of the referee, which often impact the result of their favorite team playing. Most recently, it was the Wolves fans who have felt it. This is also extended to players, coaches and even board members of the club being impacted, who often feel the need to speak out on it.
In recent years, VAR has been brought in to improve refereeing decisions. And while it does help in some capacity, the wrong decisions it has brought is making fans even more frustrated. And now another individual has come out to criticize it.
Wolves chairman goes on furious rant at VAR officials
Wolverhampton Wanderers recently fell to a 2-1 defeat to West Ham United, and many feel it was an unfair game due to one VAR decision at the end of the game. Wolves chairman Jeff Shi was one of the people angry about the decision and gave out a statement calling for a total review of the Premier League’s officiating.
The open statement read and criticized the use of VAR, “When a goal is scored and not one person inside the stadium questions the validity of that goal, including both sets of players, coaches, fans and even the match officials themselves, it’s time to question whether someone remotely disallowing that goal is really what football wants or needs.”
🗣️ Wolves chairman Jeff Shi on Max Kilman's disallowed goal against West Ham. "It's time to question if someone remote disallowing that goal is what football wants or needs…
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) April 7, 2024
"It is our sincere hope that the Premier League and PGMOL recognise the importance of addressing these… pic.twitter.com/BRIZveK97G
He further added the need for the league to address this concerns, “It is our sincere hope that the Premier League and PGMOL recognize the importance of addressing these concerns to uphold the integrity of the competition and demonstrate why the Premier League is regarded as the best in the world.”
Many others, such as coach Gary O’Neil, also came out to criticize referee Tony Harrington and called for unfair decisions to stop soon. Pundits such as Gary Lineker also expressed their shock at the decision. VAR has been a source of debate recently, with many clubs complaining about it’s decision-making, including Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta previously.
West Ham defeat Wolves after controversial ref decision
Wolves hosted West Ham yesterday in a Premier League clash. The home side managed to grab the lead when Pablo Sarabia scored a penalty in the 33rd minute. However, West Ham managed to score two minutes in the last 20 minutes of the game, including a brilliant goal from James Ward Prowse from the corner.
In the last minutes of the game, Wolves had managed to score a goal through Max Kilman’s header, which they thought would salvage them a crucial point. But VAR intervened and the goal was deemed offside, with another Wolves player, Tawanda Chirewa, found to be obstructing the view of West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Just seen the Wolves goal that was written off
— 𝙇𝙞𝙖𝙢🇧🇪 (@OfficialVizeh) April 6, 2024
Since football has existed, that’s a goal, it’s scandalous that it’s been disallowed
I don’t know how long can we keep seeing and saying the same thing each week honestly, where’s the fun in this shite?
pic.twitter.com/UvwjMwTXiK
Understandably, many fans and the club itself are very angry about the decision and are skeptical about the effectiveness of VAR in the game now. With many more examples from recent seasons, it remains to be seen what the Premier League’s response would be.
The defeat impacts Wolves a lot, as they are now 11th in the Premier League. They will now prepare for their next game, which is against Nottingham Forest next Saturday.
