B. Poor ref performance , but we see this on pretty much every game which tells me - it’s the nature of the game the refs are working in that they can not cope - hence the need for technological help - not denying even VAR is struggling with so many grey areas in the game.
I just feel every single match now whether VAR is involved or not, refs are useless, I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt because it seems a poison chalice with the speed of the game and the hundreds of interpretations for so many incidences. I get why some see it different.
It just seems a bit lazy and easy to point at a few bad decisions by a ref and cry corruption every time.
So if the nature of the game is too fast for refs to ref well at their job, and VAR makes it worse if anything (see the Lacazette kick that was VAR checked today), then how else can technology help a referee?
With the introduction of VAR, linesman are redundant, yet still are there to further confuse things.
That game tonight went beyond a poor refereeing display.
Taylor and Oliver consistently favour one team in any given match. Watch any game, and you'll see certain decisions that will always swing in favour of a particular team.
Tonight you saw it with Arsenal. Xhaka, one of the favourites to be carded at the start of the game. Consistently fouled, with blatant pullbacks and took out one or two players that for the majority of other players would be a yellow. He escaped a card.
Dallas came on as a 60th min sub, made his first (and as far as I can remember pullback) and was instantly booked for it.
Often the "lazy" and "easiest" decision is the correct one. And its after far more than a few decisions, its 90+ minutes of choosing when to use the rules and when to let them go, depending on the team/player/minute of the game.