VAR apology not good enough after Brighton were robbed

What to do about VAR? In their 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Brighton were on the end of a decision caused by human error so bad that PGMOL director Howard Webb had to telephone the Albion and apologise for it.

A sorry from the refereeing board does not make up for the two points Brighton were denied. If we were to miss out on a new highest finish by two points at the end of the season, then it could be traced back to that moment at Selhurst. What use is an apology then?

Is it now necessary to speak out and say that more should be done when something like this happens? If a team is proven to have been on the receiving end of an incorrect decision because of human error using the technology that is there only to stop these things happening, should that decision be reversed at a later date if it relates to a game-changing offside goal?

An independent panel of judges could rule whether the mistake was bad enough to warrant reversal and the goal reinstated. If the goal affects the final result, then tough. Why should players be denied points they have worked hard for?

It would be quite simple to add two more points to the Premier League table and adjust the final score accordingly after the game has concluded.

Bookmakers might complain, but they could just wait on disputed pay outs until PGMOL had given their final verdict. What do you think?

Still, Brighton were not the only team on the receiving end of an unfair decision from VAR on Saturday. Arsenal found themselves dropping points because the officials forgot to draw the lines to establish if Ivan Toney was offside when equalising for Brentford.

Not a good weekend for VAR. It was nice though to see Leandro Trossard doing well and scoring a valuable first ever goal for the Gunners before the controversy.

Ironically with the problems VAR was to cause at Selhurst Park, I was pleased that Michael Oliver was the on-pitch referee. He has loads of experience and takes no nonsense, exactly what was needed in a game against Palace.

I was not able to be there so as normal, found myself tuning into BBC Radio Sussex. Johnny Cantor was joined by Warren Aspinall, back from a recent jolly away in the sunshine.

They told us that their view of the pitch was not the best, sitting right at the back and underneath the low roof of a stand which first opened in 1924.

Warren said before the game: “If we manage to keep a clean sheet, we will win.” He had faith in Brighton scoring and he would have been proven right had Robert Sanchez not made a mistake to give Palace their equaliser.

These things happen. David De Gea makes them, Hugo Lloris makes them. There is no point dwelling on it, just move on and support Sanchez like Roberto De Zerbi did after the game.

The Albion fans at Selhurst gave Sanchez a good reception at full time. They were loud throughout the match and sounded brilliant over the airwaves, unlike the Palace support.

All you could hear was a beating drum which, as Johnny said, would drive you made it you had to be near it for the full 90 minutes.

Listeners were also told that Palace had watered only one half of the pitch before kick off, presumably to give them some sort of advantage over Brighton. Is this gamesmanship fair?

There were three changes to the Albion team with Adam Webster, Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo all back in the starting XI.

It did not take long for Mac Allister to have the first chance of the match. Solly March played a great ball through on the nine minute mark but Mac Allister did not hit his shot with any real power and Vicente Guaita saved.

A second chance for Mac Allister then came when he tried unsuccessfully to bend the ball around the Palace goalkeeper. Guaita saved again as the Albion showed that they really meant business.

Guaita next denied Kaoru Mito0ma after a good ball from Lewis Dunk. Finally, the 32nd minute brought a Brighton goal… or so we thought.

Pervis Estupinan scooped the ball over Guaita and into the right side of the Palace net for what would have been a very well deserved first goal for the Albion.

Once Estupinan had finished celebrating, the VAR screen showed that it was being looked at. Stockley Park eventually told Michael Oliver to chalk it off for offside.

Except it wasn’t. Estupinan had been in a perfectly onside position and the VAR operator had drawn the lines to the wrong Palace defender.

It took over two minutes for VAR to reach its decision and even then it got it wrong. The only fair thing to do after such a terrible error is to reinstate the goal.

The decision seemed to deflate Brighton a little and Palace had their best chances after it. Webster made an amazing block following a Caicedo error to deny what looked a certain goal for Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Half time was reached with the score at 0-0. The stats however told the real story, Palace having had only one shot on target and 26 percent possession.

Brighton started the second half well and March had two chances in the opening four minutes. Evan Ferguson replaced Deniz Undav in the 57th minute and the Albion scored their second of the game soon after.

A great cross from Estupinan was volleyed in at the back post by March to leave Selhurst silenced with Brighton 1-0 ahead.

Unfortunately, the Palace fans were not silenced for long. A free kick into the Albion box looked safe as Sanchez leapt up to catch it.

The ball seemed to be in his hands when suddenly, he dropped it – and we all know what happens when a goalkeeper drops the ball. James Tomkins was left with the simple task of heading into the empty net.

Brighton now had 20 minutes to try and score a third goal to take all three points. Their best chances came in the final 10 minutes, starting when Estupinan was chopped down by Abdoulaye Doucoure for Palace’s fourth yellow card of the afternoon against the Albion’s one.

Mac Allister missed the best Brighton opportunity, heading a Pascal Gross corner just wide of the post. At that point, you had to conclude this was one of those days where the ball was just not going to go in for the Albion. If it had, then the scoreline could have been 1-5 at least rather than Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton.

The Albion will not have long to wait to show Palace how football should be played again with the sides to meet at the Amex on Thursday 16th March. Hopefully, Palace will not be so lucky as to escape with a point thanks to Brighton being the victim of an unforgivable VAR error second time around.

Tony Noble @Noble1844Tony