VAR was wrong to intervene in the incident which caused Jack Grealish to be penalised for handball in the FA Cup final.
That is the view of former Premier League referee Mark Halsey, who feels the Manchester City and England star had been hard done by after conceding a penalty in the first half.
There was relief for Grealish and City at Wembley on Saturday, as they went on to win the final 2-1 despite Bruno Fernandes' equaliser from the penalty spot.
That 33rd-minute spot-kick came after a VAR intervention. Aaron Wan-Bissaka headed the ball into Grealish's arm from close range as the pair battled to reach a cross-field pass from Fernandes.
The match referee Paul Tierney initially waved away strong United appeals, but VAR called him to the monitor at the next break in play.
Halsey told Stats Perform: "The problem we have at present; we have got too many inconsistencies about when to get involved or when not to get involved.
"VAR is here to stay and I think it's a great tool because we have seen many goals given where the system has then put the flag up and we have seen goals ruled out when the flag hasn't gone up and the player has been just offside, so that is factual.
"But I'm seeing many subjective decisions being recommended for review – some being recommended, some not being recommended.
"Then we have some handballs given, some handballs not given, and some holding offences in the penalty area recommend for review, some not.
"Since Howard Webb has come in I think the consistency has improved, but there is still some inconsistency there, so there's a lot of work still to be done with VAR.
"It's simple – VAR should only get involved if it's a clear and obvious error, an absolute howler. That is when VAR has to get involved."
Asked specifically about the Grealish decision, Halsey added: "If you look at the game, that incident, that passage of play, was that a deliberate act? No.
"A player that deliberately moves his hand or arm towards the ball or if they are making themselves unnaturally bigger, then they run the risk of a handball being given against him.
"But were his arms in an unnatural or natural position for that passage of play? I've played the game at very, very high levels as a semi-professional – for me his arms for that passage of play were in a natural position.
"So I think we have a problem of understanding what is natural and what is unnatural. I don't think anybody knows anymore, do they?
"Paul Tierney is there [near the incident], he has seen it and he's not given it. On that situation, it is subjective.
"So is that clear enough and obvious error by Paul Tierney for VAR to get involved? For me, no, because Paul Tierney is in a great position. He has possibly seen it and he thinks, 'Well hang on I don't think that's deliberate, I think arms are in a natural position'.
"We don't know that because we don't hear the conversation, I'm just assuming. So VAR then gets involved and I question should David Coote have got involved.
"Was it correct in law? Perhaps if he's [Coote] is refereeing his opinion is [Grealish] has made himself bigger, and his arms are in the air, and it is an unnatural position.
"But Paul Tierney the on field referee doesn't give that. So was that clear enough and obvious enough for VAR to get involved? For me, no.
"The law is an ass – we need players involved as well because it's no criticism of the referee. It's the law that needs looking at. It is the same with offside, no one knows what is or what isn't and it's the same with handball.
"There is so much subjectivity involved in handball – we have seen some awful decisions regarding handball. So it's all over the place and difficult for referees because the way the law is worded and obviously they are unsure what is natural and what is unnatural with your arms."
For Halsey, the solution to the dilemma over the handball law is clear.
He said: "Back to how it used to be, that it has to be a deliberate act. Deliberate with your arm moving towards the ball.
"None of this unnatural or natural? Was his arm up in the air? Did you make yourself bigger? It's simple – ask was that a deliberate act of handling the ball?"
Victory for Premier League winners City gave them a seventh FA Cup triumph, with Saturday's Champions League final against Inter giving Pep Guardiola's men a chance to win the treble, a feat which would match rivals United's accomplishment in 1999.
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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