‘I’ve had to stop’: Michail Antonio shares why he doesn’t celebrate anymore

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West Ham United ace Michail Antonio has suggested that he has stopped celebrating now because of VAR, as quoted by KUMB.

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The 30-year-old has become well-renowned for celebrating in his own unique style after scoring for the Hammers.

We have seen the ‘Homer Simpson’, ‘The Worm’ and ‘The Backstroke’ in recent years.

It seems as though they could all now be a thing of the past, however.

Michy’s last extravagant celebration came after he scored against Burnley back in January.

Michail Antonio – VAR killing emotion

Since then he has just ran off with a smile.

And Antonio has opened up on the reasoning behind the lack of spectacular celebrations of late, as quoted by KUMB:

“I’ve had to stop celebrating because of VAR. It has ruined the game. I can’t even talk about it as I’ll go on a rant! I don’t know whether I’ve scored or not, so that’s why I don’t really want to go and celebrate because I’ll feel like an idiot if VAR goes ‘checking goal’ and I’ll be there doing the backstroke or something silly. With at least three of my goals this season I wasn’t sure whether I’d scored or not. Then they’ve gone ‘checking goal’ and I’m like yeah, it’s okay. Think about me going off and doing the worm five minutes later when they’ve finally told me I’ve scored!”

Antonio is absolutely spot on.

VAR has completely killed the emotion of the game. For both the players and the fans.

When I watch a game now and we score, I am reluctant to celebrate until the game restarts from the kick-off!

It could also be argued that the officiating is still as error-prone as it was before VAR was introduced.

The officials are inept. It’s all well and good having the opportunity to go back and watch incidents again on the screen. If you are a poor referee, however, you will end up making the same poor decision.

Most people would agree that VAR should be binned.

And Michail Antonio is obviously one player who doesn’t like the way in which it has taken the passion and emotion away from the game.