VAR BLAME GAME HARD TO TAKE

THE never-ending arguments over VAR decisions are becoming so tedious.

Officialdom finds itself in the dock due to offences entirely of their own making – and the desperate need, obviously, to make sure broadcasters have something else to chew over, aside from the action itself.

Never mind the paying punter in the stadium.

But constantly blaming referees and Stockley Park for the inadequacies and mistakes that your own team have made is pointing the finger of blame in the wrong direction.

I’m picking on Gary O’neil here, but it could be any one of them – with very few exceptions, they’re all at it.

The Wolves boss went off on one last week when his side was denied a lastminute equaliser at Molineux when young striker Tawanda Chirewa stood in front of Hammers keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

There was no mention of the mistakes his own team made to allow West Ham back into the game.

There never is.

The default position is always to blame officials.

However, the rule makers have not made it easier for the likes of O’neil and his ilk, either.

In fairness to O’neil, does anyone, anywhere understand the offside law? There are so many variances to it. ‘Active play,’ ‘deliberate play,’ ‘obstructing the vision of,’ – honestly re-read the law.

What an absolute mess.

No wonder rows are kicking off left, right and centre.

There’s a counter-argument to almost every offside decision out there.

It’s not going to happen but it would be lovely were it simplified again, for the sake of managers, players and the football-watching public who are having to put up with this chaos.