In Premier League, V.A.R. Exposes the Limits of the Laws

LIVERPOOL, England — Perhaps, for you, it was way back on the first day of the Premier League season that the doubts set in, when Raheem Sterling’s armpit was deemed offside in Manchester City’s game against West Ham.

Or maybe you had a little more patience than that. Maybe you accepted that any innovation, any disruption, drags a learning curve in its wake. Your own tipping point might have come with Son Heung-min’s shoulder blade, or John Lundstram’s toe, or Sadio Mané’s hip.

Or it might have come on Sunday at Anfield, where Liverpool squeezed out of 2019 with a 1-0 win against Wolves to maintain its 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League, thanks in equal parts to a goal from Mané, its visitors’ wastefulness and Jonny Castro Otto’s unforgivable inability to keep the arch of his left foot onside at all times.

There is one final possibility, of course, which is that no matter how long that list of insignificant body parts grows, your faith in the benefits that the video assistant referee has brought to English soccer remains unwavering.

Source: The New York Times

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Keywords:

Premier League • Liverpool • Premier League • Raheem Sterling • Offside (association football) • Manchester City F.C. • West Ham United F.C. • Innovation • Learning curve • Planetary boundaries • Son Heung-min • Scapula • John Lundstram • Sadio Mané • Anfield • Liverpool F.C. • Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. • Premier League • Lion • Video assistant referee • Association football •