Southampton: Huge VAR controversy denies West Brom goal vs Saints

Southampton were pushed back by West Brom early on in their Premier League meeting on Monday evening and saw a number of efforts on their goal.

The Baggies were desperately looking to claim another win and spark their escape from trouble and eventually raced into a 2-0 lead with Saints struggling to keep up.

Their opening goal should have come in the first five minutes though as VAR controversy was seen again.

A shot from the right found its way towards Kyle Bartley and Mbaye Diagne at the back post and Diagne tucked his shot home past Fraser Forster – even with the VAR review going on, it looked as though Sam Allardyce’s side would be awarded their goal.

Lack of camera angles sees Southampton given early reprieve

As the review went on, it was clear to see that Diagne was onside and had been played on by Jannik Vestergaard. Kyle Bartley was in an offside position but was not interfering with play.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

However, offside was eventually decided on. The Sky Sports commentary team seemed as confused as watching fans were, and Baggies fans would have been furious.

TV coverage then explained that the officiating team did not have access to the camera angles they needed to draw a line to show the part of Diagne’s body that was closest to the goal, and they could therefore not make a clear call. His teammate Bartley was in the way.

This instance will only raise more questions about the use of technology in football.

Why does VAR not use camera angles that reduce the effect of so many bodies in the penalty area or other player positioning technology? Why could an official seeing those pictures not make a human call without the use of a computer?

There are so many things that need to be ironed out that it is turning fans against the game that they love and it could well be the difference between a crucial win or a season-defining defeat for a team soon.