They did show the clear view of the handball at the time and we all saw it at least once while the referee was speaking to the VAR assistant and while he was walking over to the monitor.
What didn't happen was the referee being shown the clearest angle of the incident, the cameras were looking over his shoulder and we could all see the images he was being shown and he was only shown the angles that were inconclusive.
The M.E.N. contacted UEFA to find out who decides what angles the referee is shown and they didn't reply, all they said in response to this was “All relevant angles were made available to the referee to take his decision last night.” Who makes them available and decides what's relevant is a question we don't know the answer to. If it's the VAR assistant then at least they're someone qualified to make that decision, if it's the broadcaster then that is hugely problematic. I don't necessarilly think that's BT Sport though as I think all the channels worldwide are given the same footage by UEFA, it could be the local rights broadcaster which would be BT Sport for games played at the Etihad. Maybe it's the 'Match Commander's we've been hearing about recently although nobody seems to know what their roles and responsibilities are.
They certainly didn't feel the need to clear up any of the questions many people had surrounding VAR and its implementation which is a real disgrace as all it does is sow discontent and mistrust. I think people would feel better about VAR if the operators came out and admitted that a mistake was made or that something had occurred that they didn't have plans for or control over. The secrecy over how it all works is just so damaging and if mistakes aren't acknowledged they will never be rectified.
I think this is why City fans are so much more suspicious of VAR and how it is used than, say, our resident West Ham fan. Our first introduction to the joys of VAR were to watch us be denied a Champions League final place by two VAR decisions that were incorrect according to the laws of the game at that time. This was then followed up by us watching the start of our season be derailed by incorrect VAR decision after incorrect VAR decision (who can forget those dropped points against Spurs when Rodri is dragged to the floor by the neck which is explained away as a dive by PGMOL), we were watching our have to score 5 goals in order to be awarded one as we were subjected to forensic levels of scrutiny every time the ball hit the back of the net. Meanwhile, in comparison, our nearest challengers are gaining points hand over fist from penalties and freekicks from blatant dives because good ol' VAR has shown that there's 'contact. It's no wonder our players looked drained of all confidence and belief after the first few months of last season while Liverpool were handballing, launching opposition players into hoardings, punching, kicking and diving their way to glory under the ever watchful eye of Stockley Park.
Was it worth losing the joy of celebrating a goal for all this secrecy, time wasting over arbitrarily placed lines and additional guesswork from the teams of officials every week? I don't think so and it doesn't seem like referees are coming to the right decision more frequently than they used to, it still all feels like the decision making process is a lottery.
Here's a link to the original MEN article if anyone's interested;
Manchester City went out of Europe in a thriller but the debate over the referee's decision to allow Fernando Llorente's goal, in which he handled the ball.
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
