Lampard slams ‘not good enough’ VAR in red-card row
A furious Frank Lampard described the video assistant referee process as “not good enough” after the official, David Coote, was forced to admit he got it wrong when failing to send off Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
On another day when VAR sparked controversy in the Premier League, Bournemouth were frustrated to have an equaliser ruled out at Burnley, with VAR instead awarding a penalty against them that led to a goal.
Leicester City were also aggrieved that they were denied a penalty despite Kevin De Bruyne, the Manchester City midfielder, committing an apparent handball. City were given a spot-kick for Dennis Praet’s similar-looking handball. Sergio Aguero missed but City went on to win 1-0.
At Stamford Bridge, meanwhile, just four days after the VAR had failed to send off Harry Maguire for kicking Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi in the groin, Lo Celso somehow managed to get away with a second-half stamp on Cesar Azpilicueta in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory.
The incident was checked by VAR, with Coote initially deciding Lo Celso had nowhere else to put his foot, which left a nasty stud mark on Azpilicueta’s leg. Lampard and the Chelsea players were shocked that Lo Celso escaped punishment and were unimpressed to find out that Stockley Park subsequently admitted that Coote had got it wrong. “Not good enough,” said Lampard. “I’m sorry, but it’s not good enough. It’s twice in two games.
“Anybody in the world in football saw that it was a red. It’s a leg-breaker without a doubt. This one doesn’t need a monitor, it is a clear decision. I was waiting for the red card to be shown. It is not good enough. Saying afterwards that you made a mistake is not good enough. They had minutes to get it right.”
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho was quick to point out that his side had also been the victims of questionable
VAR decisions this season. Mourinho said: “I hope the noise is the same noise when the VAR kills us, I hope it’s the same, against Liverpool when [Andy] Robertson should get the red, against Watford when [Etienne] Capoue should get the red card twice, with the same gentleman here. Why didn’t they say they made a mistake against Liver- pool or Watford? That’s what I mean.”
At Turf Moor, Harry Wilson thought he had cancelled out Matej Vydra’s opening goal for Burnley, only for TV official Chris Kavanagh to rule out the equaliser and award the hosts a penalty for an earlier handball by Adam Smith. Jay Rodriguez converted to put Burnley 2-0 up.
Eddie Howe’s side also had Josh King’s effort chalked off for handball before Dwight McNeil added a third to give Sean Dyche’s side a comprehensive 3-0 victory.
On the VAR incident, Howe said: “I don’t blame [referee] Mike Dean for this. I blame the process of VAR. I am a fan of the offsides because they are black and white, but in these instances someone nowhere near Burnley has decided the game.”