Karren Brady has reopened the VAR debate following West Ham’s controversial defeat to Arsenal last weekend.
Callum Wilson’s injury-time equaliser was disallowed for a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya by Pablo Felipe.
While most would agree with the decision in isolation, there were at least five other incidents from the same corner.
Instead of awarding West Ham a penalty for any of the potential fouls, referee Chris Kavanagh gave Arsenal a free-kick.
Brady has now become the latest public figure to criticise VAR after the “chaos” that ensued at the London Stadium.
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Karren Brady sounds alarm after West Ham vs Arsenal VAR controversy
As with most Premier League fans, Brady is not a fan of VAR’s scrutiny of key moments in football matches.
Goals are supposed to be the highlight of every game, but now they often take more than five minutes to be given — or not.
Brady blasted the implementation of VAR in her latest column for The Sun and also highlighted the ramifications for West Ham.
The decision to disallow Wilson’s goal could be the difference between the Hammers being relegated to the Championship.
Not only would that be bitterly disappointing for everyone associated with the club, but it would cause major financial problems.
Brady wrote: “[Supporters] will remember the intervention, the freeze-frames, the slow motion, the forensic examination of a goalmouth scramble that, in any football ground in the country, looked exactly what it was: Chaos.
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“Beautiful, imperfect, glorious chaos. Instead, football now treats these moments like a crime scene investigation. And the ramifications could be enormous.
“Relegation is not simply sporting disappointment anymore. It is financial devastation. It is hundreds of millions lost. It is players sold, ambitions scaled back, and years of rebuilding.
“One VAR call can now alter the entire trajectory of a football club. That is not healthy for the sport.
“The debate over VAR has raged for years, but what happened at the London Stadium last weekend cut right to the heart of the issue.”
West Ham can only hope that refereeing decisions go their way in the remaining matches against Newcastle and Leeds.
The Hammers are probably due some fortune, given that they were also denied two penalties against Brentford.
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