Football’s interminable video assistant refereeing debate has its latest chapter after a bizarre evening and officiating performance at Villa Park. With the FA Cup not allowing the video protocol until the fifth round, here was an occasion to make the abolitionists think twice. Is elite football already too far gone to referee without a bank of screens in a faraway business park? Or were Chris Kavanagh, the referee, and his assistants just having a nightmare day at the office?
Sandro Tonali’s two goals and Nick Woltemade’s clincher booked Newcastle’s fifth-round place, completing a comeback that came in the face of officiating mistakes weighing against Eddie Howe’s team. Eventually, they prevailed over an Aston Villa team who lost discipline and should have been down to 10 men earlier than they eventually were.
Tammy Abraham’s opener for Aston Villa, his first goal for them since 2019, found Newcastle’s defence looking half-asleep when Douglas Luiz scooped a free-kick through. But the striker was clearly offside. Perhaps both defenders and officials have become too reliant on the tech. No semi-automaton here; the goal stood.
VAR makes hypocrites of us all. Villa’s and Newcastle’s managers have been critical of the protocol in recent weeks. In the Premier League, there would have been second looks on first-half penalty-area challenges on Lewis Hall and Harvey Barnes but Kavanagh repeatedly chose to let the game flow. Lucas Digne’s first-half yellow card for clattering Jacob Murphy had a distinct tinge of red, the latter’s leg having the stud marks to show it. Again, the decision stood.
