Aston Villa were awarded a penalty in stoppage time of their match against Brighton on Saturday.
Then it was overturned by VAR after Michael Oliver consulted his pitchside screen.
Brighton clinched a 2-1 victory, and in the Times, former Premier League ref Peter Walton gave his verdict on the incident.
He felt the decision to award Villa the penalty should have been upheld, citing the absence of any clear and obvious error.
“It is commendable that referees are going to look at their monitors. That is a huge positive though there is still a lot of misunderstanding about how VAR should operate.
“The (incident was) hugely subjective. Why, then, (was) Michael Oliver told to consult the monitor? VAR should intervene only if the referee has made a clear error. (He) should have stuck with the original decision.
“Solly March got a touch of the ball but followed through heavily and caught Trézéguet on the shin. Anywhere else, that’s a free kick. There was certainly not convincing evidence to show that Oliver had made a howler.”
Walton’s verdict won’t help Villa, who slipped to a third straight Premier League home defeat.
It will likely mean people connected with Villa may feel even more aggrieved that a huge late chance of a draw was snatched away.
That’s frustrating, although Dean Smith also has to ponder why his side were unable to build on the momentum of that impressive win at Arsenal before the international break.
Perhaps fatigue from the players who had been away with their countries played a part.
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