England boss Gareth Southgate believes VAR has not done anything to resolve controversial refereeing decisions.
The off-field decision-making process has come under renewed fire this week after Liverpool were denied a fair goal in their defeat at Tottenham when VAR Darren England mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside and inadvertently validated the linesman’s offside call, with play restarting before the mistake was noticed.
There has been a huge fallout from the gaffe, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp calling for the game to be replayed while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced a review into VAR and its practices.
Southgate has always been against it and says nothing has changed from when on-field decisions were final.
“Well, all I would say is everybody used to go to the pub and moan about the ref and they still go to the pub and moan about the ref,” he quipped.
“So I’m not sure what we’ve resolved, really. I don’t like it, never have, so I have sort of dismissed it.
“I just was always brought up as a kid that the referee’s decision was final. You might agree or disagree but we have to get on with it.
“I didn’t ever feel we were going to resolve every issue.
“I think we are probably too far down the line now to go back but I didn’t like it from the off.
“Once you open up a technology opportunity, you are normally going that way and you have got to refine and improve on what happens. But yes, I don’t like it.”
The PGMOL has taken unprecedented steps in recent times of retrospectively releasing audio of the decision-making process, including England’s expletive-filled mistake at the weekend.
But fans in the stadium remain in the dark at the time, often left waiting for up to five minutes while decisions are scrutinised in Stockley Park.
“When I am at games I am always conscious that the only people who don’t know what is going on are the people who have paid to go,” he said. “I find that really difficult.
“I am sitting in the stadium next to people and I am lucky as I normally get a free ticket and other people pay a lot of money and haven’t got a clue or are on the phone to someone at home asking what’s going on.
“The frustration, you can feel it in the stadium, you can feel the view.
“I know if we didn’t have it people would go back to, ‘well this could be resolved’, but when I am in the stadiums my sense is they don’t necessarily want 14 minutes of added time or a decision by something that they are not totally across the process of.”
Emery praises 'special' Duran in Villa comeback
Unai Emery has praised "special" Jhon Duran after his late brace secured Aston Villa a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday.
The Reds looked to be on their way to a 3-1 despite Youri Tielemans’ strike after Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah added to Emiliano Martinez’s early own goal.
However, Duran's 79th-minute introduction changed the game as the Colombian scored twice in three minutes to salvage a draw.
Villa needed a win to secure a Champions League spot, but a point keeps their fate in their own hands despite Tottenham having a game in hand against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Emery was full of praise for his forward, acknowledging how important his goals could be by Sunday.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "Jhon Duran is a special player. We have to try and help him. He is a good guy, and he needs a team behind him. He is getting our demands better. He was very clinical and today was important for him.
"Today we are celebrating with our supporters, we have to push it and keep working and be consistent. We were consistent all the season. The team was being mature and always consistent in our mind. Inch by inch we did it.
"We are very proud of the season. It is not enough at the moment to get fourth. Even after we scored the two goals, we had chances. We are celebrating the season here with our supporters in Villa Park.
"We are only thinking of us. We will prepare for our match on Sunday, everything is in our hands."
Villa were on a three-game losing run going into the Liverpool contest, and John McGinn highlighted the team’s strong mentality to avoid another defeat.
"It's a brilliant effort towards the end. We got a bit of luck. It's been a tough few weeks with lads coming back and playing through the pain barrier. This place got us going," he told Sky Sports after the game.
"There's some of us that have never been close to the Champions League in our life. The manager has a no-excuse mentality. People have written us off and we've floated under the radar. We'll have our Man City tops on tomorrow.
"Big Jhon [Duran] is a bit nuts and is a nightmare to have in your team, but he's got quality. We need to keep his feet on the ground over the next couple of days."
Barcelona 2-0 Real Sociedad: Blaugrana back to winning ways to reclaim second spot
Barcelona reclaimed second place in LaLiga with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday courtesy of a Lamine Yamal first-half strike and a late Raphinha penalty.
Yamal put Barcelona ahead in the 40th minute when he coolly slotted home from Ilkay Gundogan's pass after a quick breakaway for his fifth LaLiga goal this season.
Raphinha's penalty in stoppage time sealed victory for the hosts after a VAR review for handball, leaving the Basque side in seventh place with 54 points, one behind Real Betis in the last Europa League spot.
Xavi's side leapfrogged Girona to move on to 76 points, one clear of their Catalan rivals who dropped points in Friday's 2-2 draw at Alaves.
Real Madrid have already secured the league title, sitting on 90 points with three games left.
Data Debrief:
Gundogan got a vital assist for Barcelona's opener, and has been involved in 193 open-play shot-ending sequences in LaLiga this season, more than any other player in the competition.
Barcelona have kept a clean sheet in both games against Real Sociedad in LaLiga 2023-24 (W2), achieving this in a single season of the competition for the first time since 2006-07, when they also beat them twice.
Aston Villa 3-3 Liverpool: Duran’s dramatic late double edges Villa towards Champions League spot
Jhon Duran's dramatic late double earned Aston Villa a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool at Villa Park, but the hosts will still have to wait before they can be sure of sealing a top-four Premier League finish.
Duran came off the bench to score in the 85th and 88th minutes to help Villa avoid what had looked set to be a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.
Emiliano Martinez's own goal gifted Liverpool the lead two minutes in on Monday and Cody Gakpo restored that advantage for the visitors after Youri Tielemans had Unai Emery’s side level.
It looked like Jarell Quansah's first goal for the Reds early in the second half had sealed the victory, but Duran’s late intervention ensured Villa emerged from the game with a valuable point.
Villa remain in fourth place, now five points clear of Tottenham, their rivals for a Champions League spot. Spurs have a game in hand but must beat title-chasing Manchester City on Tuesday to take the battle to the final day. Liverpool stay third on 79 points.
Emery’s men found themselves behind just 61 seconds into the game with a moment to forget for Martinez as he failed to hold onto Harvey Elliott’s cross, letting it roll over the line.
Despite Liverpool’s bright start, Villa equalised against the run of play – Ollie Watkins pulled it back to Tielemans, who drilled a first-time shot into the bottom-left corner.
Gakpo restored the Reds’ lead in the 23rd minute, meeting Joe Gomez’s low cross to fire into an empty net, with the on-field decision confirmed after a VAR review for an offside in the build-up.
Diego Carlos should have dragged Villa level again before the break, but with an open net to aim for at close range, he could only guide his shot wide of the far post.
Liverpool started the second half brightly, with Quansah netting his first goal for the club with a towering, unmarked header into the top-left corner before offside decisions denied both sides more goals.
Watkins thought he had scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season when he guided it past Alisson, but it was disallowed following a VAR review as Leon Bailey set off too early in the build-up.
Minutes later, Elliott skipped in front of Mohamed Salah to poke Luis Diaz’s cross past a stranded Martinez, but the flag was up against the Colombian.
Duran’s introduction flipped the momentum back in Villa’s favour, as the substitute scored twice in three minutes to salvage a draw – he drilled the first into the bottom-corner after dispossessing Alexis Mac Allister before perhaps fortuitously flicking Moussa Diaby’s pass over Alisson and into the net.
Home comforts for Villa
Villa knew a win here would confirm fourth spot and Champions League football, and while they did not quite achieve that, this was a small and significant step towards securing it.
Though they were not helped by Martinez's mistake in the second minute, with the goalkeeper scoring the earliest own goal since Antolin Alcaraz (54 seconds) for Everton against Southampton in April 2014, Villa kept fighting to get a result.
The Villans are now unbeaten in their final home game of the season in each of the last five campaigns since their promotion back to the top-flight in 2019, winning three and drawing two. They have Duran to thank for that record extending, and they will now watch Spurs’ match against City with great interest.
Quick starts boost Reds
In Jurgen Klopp's penultimate game in charge of Liverpool, his side showed signs of their free-scoring best once more.
Quansah's header was the 140th goal across all competitions for Liverpool this season - it is their second-highest scoring campaign in the club's history after 2021-22 (147).
They made bright starts to both halves and were rewarded with goals inside the opening three minutes each time to put themselves in control.
However, another defensive lapse at the back, similar to the one they had against Tottenham, ultimately cost them two points. The Reds finish their season at home to Wolves on Sunday.
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