Premier League Games 10/11/12 January

[Gray]

The Sheffield United player knocked the ball on to Rice's hand, how was he supposed to avoid that?

 

[Young Blue]

I like West Ham and felt for them tonight, but when you looked to the replay it was a clear and obvious hitting of his arm, (albeit accidental), and according to the current rules was rightly disallowed.

I have a problem with the large number of goals disallowed by VAR which are not clear and obvious, like the one given against us in the spurs game at the start of the season. Even after replays it was almost impossible to notice any contact.

It was good they showed the incident on the screen so all fans could see the handball, hopefully the system is slowly improving?

 

[BlueHammer85]

Interestingly i recall Sheff Utd fans singing ‘F^ck VAR’ and yet here they were tonight all celebrating mad when VAR rules out a goal against them - if fans are serious about wanting rid of it then maybe they should perhaps stop being so fickle when it goes for or against them.

 

[Ric]

The Sheffield United player knocked the ball on to Rice's hand, how was he supposed to avoid that?

Intent, or lack of it, is no longer relevant if it leads directly to a goal. It’s a stupid rule.

 

[Barcon]

Intent, or lack of it, is no longer relevant if it leads directly to a goal. It’s a stupid rule.

And one that for some reason only punishes the attacking team.

 

[Ric]

And one that for some reason only punishes the attacking team.

Yep, it’s a nonsense.

 

[daztrueblue91]

The handball rule is an absolute shit show and the fact that highly paid professionals are allowing it to exist is a joke. It’s not fucking rocket science to sort it out either.

If the ball goes in directly off an attackers hand disallow the goal.

If the ball goes directly off an attackers hand and provides a CLEAR goal scoring opportunity then disallow the goal. People might argue that the concept of ‘clear’ might be subjective but just judge it the same way as the previous ‘last man’ sending off rule.

Just because a goal is scored after an accidental handball doesn’t mean it was created by the handball. Rice and Snodgrass had a lot of work to do before the goal went in. As did Jesus earlier in the season against Spurs.

The biggest clusterfuck in the whole situation is that if Snodgrass would have been fouled just outside the box and West Ham scored from the resulting free kick, the goal would have stood.

 

[daztrueblue91]

The one where it didn't actually definitively hit his arm, and the VAR check showed that Anthony Taylor specifically told VAR he saw it wasn't a handball, but everyone on here ignored that and kept posting the one grainy clip from behind where it looked like he might have handballed it?

They've been consistent with it. The rule is stupid in the way it punishes attacking more than defending, but that's not a VAR problem.

I agree about the Van Dijk one last week not being a handball but they have clearly not been consistent with it. Newcastle scored from a handball earlier in the season as did Dele Alli. There can be no excuses to get any decisions wrong when there is VAR and every goal is reviewed.

Also, the TAA handball at Anfield brings up a serious grey area in the rules. When he handballs it in the box he is the defender. But he gains possession of the ball and sets up a counter-attack which Liverpool score from.

Surely that is the beginning of that attacking phase of play?

There is no way that TAA can be judged to have set up a clear goal scoring opportunity by winning possession in his own box, but the same logic should be applied to Rice who gained possession at the half way line.

 

[caseball]

If Jesus had hit it over the bar, no free kick to Spurs. If Spurs got the ball, broke upfield and scored they'd have won. It's stupid to punish one particular consequence of an unavoidable (in our case dubious) handball. In the case of accidental handball, they could write the law so that it's an infringement if the same player touches the ball again before another player. Beyond that, it's just a question of luck where the ball goes from that type of contact.

 

[caseball]

Scrap VAR and we go back to players winning penalty’s with ZERO contact, players scoring MILES offside and players intentionally handballing to score etc etc.

there’s no pleasing either way.

Those aren't the problems City fans have with it. Our problems are the complete opposite. We hardly ever profited in the past from what you're talking about, anyway. We were sometimes on the wrong end of it. But with VAR, we still don't get penalties for clear and obvious fouls on our players in the box (this has been a recurring theme in our games for many years). We get goals ruled out not miles offside but for offside by tiny amounts that can't be proved. And we've had an injury time winner ruled out, not for intentional handball, but for an accidental handball that you couldn't see in real time and which involved clear holding by the Spurs defender. And that's just the Premier League. Don't mention the Champions League for Christ's sake.

All that, and more, with VAR. It hasn't fixed much from our point of view but it has added new ways to rule out goals and seems to take an age to check every goal we score. Bearing in mind that we score far more goals than any other English team, we get the feeling that we have to put up with a lot more BS than any other fans.