By Tom Sanders
Another day, another VAR controversy. This time round it's Roberto Firmino's goal against Aston Villa on Saturday, which was narrowly and controversially ruled to be a fraction offside following a VAR review.
The decision caused an uproar amongst Liverpool supporters- even more than usual- after replays appeared to show that Firmino was in fact onside, with Tyrone Mings narrowly playing him on as the last man.
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And yet in one of the most bizarre refereeing decisions in recent memory, it was eventually ruled that Firmino's ARMPIT was offside which was grounds for the goal being disallowed.
The incident has sparked yet another furious debate about the use of VAR in the Premier League, with referee Martin Atkinson in particular coming under fierce criticism for allowing the goal to be ruled offside when all evidence suggested the opposite.
And surprisingly, nobody has gone in as strongly against the decision as former Sky Sports commentator and former Everton and Villa player Andy Gray.
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Appearing on BeIN Sports, Gray accused Atkinson of manipulating the lines in order to make it look like Firmino was offside.
"To my naked eye, [Tyrone Ming's] knee is playing all of him onside," said Gray, when viewing the clip that was released showing how the decision was reached. "I can see that.
"When they first calibrate it, and they do it and 'oh, wait a minute, he's still onside, let's do it again'.
"They do it again, and lo and behold, it comes up that he's offside in the second calibration and suddenly he's offside.
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"That should have been a goal, end of. My naked eye can see that knee is playing every part of Roberto Firmino onside and I don't need calibration to tell me otherwise."
Interestingly, even the Premier League themselves felt the need to explain the reasoning behind the decision, tweeting during the match that "Liverpool's Roberto Firmino was flagged offside before putting the ball in the net against Aston Villa and the decision was confirmed by VAR.
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"The red line signifies Firmino and was aligned to his armpit, which was marginally ahead of the last Villa defender."
Although the decision ultimately made no lasting impact upon the match as Liverpool went on to win the game 2-1 in stoppage time, the incident is sure to provide yet more fuel for the fire in the great VAR debate which shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Liverpool, Aston Villa, Firmino, Roberto Firmino, VAR
