Furious Benitez demands VAR after defeat
NEWCASTLE: Rafael Benitez called on Sunday for the immediate introduction of video assistant referees after his 10-man Newcastle side slumped to a 2-1 home defeat to Wolves following Matt Doherty’s stoppage-time winner.
Furious Benitez made the plea after DeAndre Yedlin was sent off for hauling back Diogo Jota after being caught in possession 56 minutes into the defeat, which left the Magpies three points from the relegation zone.
Benitez was also convinced that Willy Boly should have been given a red card and Newcastle a penalty after the Frenchman caught Ayoze Perez with a flying elbow.
“It was an elbow in the face, he was bleeding — it was so obvious,” said Benitez.
“But I have seen the replay. You can see the replay and see the face of the player and after, what happened. Anyone can see that, so we need VAR [video assistant referees].”
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, whose side are up to 10th after their second straight win, felt the sending off was justified and the elbow by Boly accidental.
“It’s an elbow, it’s a clear elbow on Ayoze,” he said. “But from my point of view, not being over-protective, he [Boly] jumps for the ball and he doesn’t see him, so it’s not intentional.”
VAR is set to be introduced to the Premier League from next season after clubs “agreed in principle” to the move last month, following an update on the non-live VAR trials already taking place.
The system is already being used in leagues around Europe, including Italy’s Serie A and French Ligue 1, and was used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.