Gary Lineker has admitted “I got it wrong” when it comes to VAR.
Arsenal were denied a late equaliser in their Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday due to a strange handball law. The Gunners thought they had drawn level when Kai Havertz scrambled in the ball at the back post, but were denied as referee Jarred Gillett disallowed the goal for handball.
Video assistant referees Michael Salisbury and Scott Ledger closely scrutinised the incident, reviewing every angle until it became clear that the ball had grazed the top of Havertz’s hand – which was in a natural position.
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The FA’s current rules state that even an accidental handball by a player immediately before scoring is a foul, while an accidental handball by a defender to stop a goal is not penalised in the same way. It also means that the goal would have counted if Eddie Nketiah, who was standing directly behind Havertz, had prodded the ball in instead.
The bizarre law understandably left football fans baffled – and VAR could not grant a goal as Gillett had not actually made a clear and obvious error. And the messy debacle left Match of the Day presenter Lineker venting his frustration towards VAR, having been an advocate for its introduction in 2019.
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The BBC presenter said: “Defenders can accidentally handball it but forwards can’t. Why are we trying to stop goals? The people that are making the rules of the game, why are they doing that? It’s really bizarre.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright interjected with: “[It’s] the most ridiculous law in all of law, not just football law.”
Lineker then continued: “I have to say, I really don’t like VAR much anymore. I was one of those that advocated for it and I actually feel quite guilty. I was definitely wrong. It’s spoiling the game.” The former striker doubled down again by later tweeting: “I got it wrong. My bad.”
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Elsewhere, on Sky Sports, pundit Jamie Redknapp also slammed the handball law, saying: “It's a terrible rule that any time a ball touches a player's hand and if a goal occurs after then it becomes a handball, which is ridiculous when you think about it.
“It's a rubbish rule. How can that be handball? It looks like it could hit Matty Cash. It's just rebounding around, it maybe drops, it's ball to hand.
“I think that we're getting ourselves in such a mess with these rules all the time. How on earth can that be handball when he's not meant to do it? It's a rubbish law.”
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