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Kamara: Wolves should have had penalty v Burnley

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Image for Kamara: Wolves should have had penalty v Burnley

Sky Sports pundit Chris Kamara has blasted the decision not to hand Wolves a penalty in their clash with Burnley on Saturday, insisting that VAR would have overturned the decision had it been in place in the Premier League.

The Molineux outfit were beaten 2-0 by the Clarets in what many will deem a shock result, with one side pushing to finish in the top seven and the other battling against relegation.

However, Nuno Espirito’s men were left frustrated when Ashley Barnes blocked a shot in the box with his arm, demanding a penalty from the officials, and Kamara agreed that a spot kick should have been handed their way.

He told Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday (31/01, 11:25): “If this was the Champions League, it would be a penalty. No doubt about that, no ifs or buts.

“They’d go to the VAR in the Champions League, they’d have a look at it and straight away they’d give a penalty against Ashley Barnes. It doesn’t matter whether his arms are down by his side or not, they will say he has made himself bigger by sticking his right arm out.”

Opinion

Barnes can count himself a lucky man not to have conceded what could have been a game changing penalty on Saturday afternoon against Wolves, but that might well not be the case next season with VAR coming into England’s top flight. As Kamara says, the officials would have had a decision to make and this is where the human element of the technology comes in. Some might argue that Barnes’ arms were by his side when the shot came his way and the referee seemed to decide that was enough not to point to the spot. Will a video assistant be able to argue against the officials’ decision there? It really is one which will divide opinion – although Kamara has made his point quite clear – and that is something that the Premier League has got to look forward to – or maybe not, if you are not a convert of VAR yet.

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