Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has been discussing VAR following some comments made by Liverpool midfielder James Milner.
The 34-year-old claimed he is ‘falling out of love’ with the game following the introduction of VAR. The Reds conceded a late penalty to Brighton at the weekend after the Video Assistant Referee spotted a foul by Andrew Robertson on Danny Welbeck.
Subsequently, Pascal Gross levelled the score to earn a point for Graham Potter’s side (as per BBC Sport). Despite Milner voicing his dissatisfaction with regards to the system, speaking exclusively to This is Futbol, Halsey was keen to point out that VAR is here to stay, here is what he had to say:
“James Milner and Jordan Henderson saying they want the VAR scrapped, it’s ruining the game, VAR is here to stay, but it’s the way that it’s being implemented by our officials, the training and education, they’re getting involved when they shouldn’t be getting involved.
“It’s the leadership and direction from the management at the PGMOL, it’s all over the place, you don’t know what you’re going to get from one week to the next.”
Judging by the former official’s comments, it’s clear he feels the blame lays with those at the PGMOL for not providing the right guidance around how the technology should be implemented in the English game.
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Given the Reds had a goal ruled out for an offside call made by the VAR and then found themselves pegged back in stoppage time by a penalty also spotted by the officials operating the technology (as per BBC Sport), we can understand why Milner may have felt frustrated.
Earlier in the season, the champions had a last-minute winner chalked off in the Merseyside derby following a VAR review and so perhaps it is a series of events that has led Milner & Henderson to their respective opinions. However, we agree with Halsey when he says the technology is here to stay.