Festive spirit in short supply amid anger over VAR calls

Festive spirit was in short supply from video assistant referees in the Premier League yesterday as three goals were ruled out for marginal offside calls, exacerbating frustration about the technology being used for the first time in England this season.

On a day when a weakened Leicester team won 2-1 at West Ham and Tottenham was held 2-2 at Norwich, much of the debate in stadiums and on social media centered on disgruntlement at the forensic geometry being used to call on tight offside decisions - even if the correct calls were ultimately made.

“If VAR was a manager, he’d have been sacked weeks ago,” former England captain Gary Lineker tweeted to his 7.5 million followers after Norwich striker Teemu Pukki had a goal disallowed for offside that required the VAR in a room outside London to apply lines and dots on the screen to judge.

That came hours after Brighton defender Dan Burn was adjudged offside by a matter of millimeters before scoring in a 2-0 win over Bournemouth, and then Wilfried Zaha had the same call against him - or rather his armpit - after he set up Max Meyer’s ‘goal’ for Crystal Palace in a 1-1 draw at Southampton.

“This is nonsense and it’s damaging the spectacle,” tweeted Arlo White, who calls matches for NBC in the United States.

Narrow offside calls, and the microscopic way they are judged, have been the most contentious part of the VAR system brought in this season.

“It’s small margins but those are the rules they’re using. It’s the procedure that they go on so it’s either it is or it isn’t, so there isn’t much you can say,” Palace manager Roy Hodgson said.

“I was never one to be banging the drum for VAR. But if the mass media want it, and the public want it, once again you have to be mature enough to accept it.”

Rotation was rife yesterday as managers juggled their resources to deal with a second game in a 48hour span for most teams during a hectic festive period that will see another match in the middle of next week.

Second-string Leicester

Second-place Leicester made nine changes for the match against West Ham - Jamie Vardy, the league’s top scorer, was one of the stars missing after his wife gave birth - but still had enough to win at the Olympic Stadium.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Demarai Gray scored the goals for Leicester, either side of an equalizer by Pablo Fornals, as the visitors moved 10 points behind Liverpool having played two games more.

The defeat piles the pressure on West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini, whose team is just a point and a place above the relegation zone.

Poor defending

Known for coaching teams with well-organized defences, Jose Mourinho hasn’t managed to sort out Tottenham’s errorprone back line.

Mistakes led to both of Norwich’s goals at Carrow Road, with goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga letting a tame shot by Mario Vrancic in for the first and Serge Aurier scoring an owngoal for the second.

Tottenham came from behind twice via a free kick by Christian Eriksen and a penalty by Harry Kane, and is two points behind fourth-place Chelsea having played a game more.

Ancelotti effect

It’s two games and two wins for Carlo Ancelotti since taking charge of Everton.

The second victory came at Newcastle, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring twice as Everton won 2-1.

Jahanbakhsh and Mooy score as Brighton beats Bournemouth 2-0

Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Aaron Mooy scored their first goals for the club to help Brighton beat struggling Bournemouth 2-0 in the Premier

League yesterday.

Jahanbakhsh, the club’s record signing, put Brighton ahead after just three minutes and in doing so became the third Iranian player to score in England’s top division.

The forward joined after last year’s World Cup but did not score in 24 games during his first season with the Seagulls. He set his sights right when he swept home with his right foot from striker Neal Maupay’s astute pass.

Watford beats Villa 3-0, edges closer to safety

Watford’s bid to pull out of relegation trouble in the Premier League gained further momentum with a 3-0 win over fellow struggler Aston Villa yesterday.

Watford had defender Adrian Mariappa sent off in the 57th minute but still beat Aston Villa 3-0 to move within three points of escaping the relegation zone. Villa is in third-to-last place, two points ahead of Watford, with Norwich last, a further three

Yesterday points adrift.

Ings keeps up hot streak, earns Southampton point vs Palace

Danny Ings pounced on a defensive error to score for the eighth time in his last nine games and salvage a 1-1 draw for Southampton at home to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

The former Liverpool striker, whose 12 goals for the season make him tied for second place in the scoring charts behind Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, capitalized on a stray pass by Palace right back Martin Kelly and bore down in goal before slotting his finish into the bottom corner in the 74th minute.

That cancelled out a headed goal by Palace centre back James Tomkins in the 50th, from a free kick by Luka Milivojevic.

Man United movedinto 5th place thanks to a 2-0 win over Burnley thanks to goals from Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

Everton coach Carlo Ancelotti giving instructions to his players during the match against Newcastle Photo: AP