Noel Egan believes that VAR let down referee Tony Harrington during Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory over West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday (17 August).
The former FIFA official and lifelong Aston Villa supporter argues that the penalty awarded to West Ham should have been overturned.
Lucas Paquetá converted the penalty in the 37th minute after Matty Cash was deemed to have fouled Tomáš Souček. However, in an exclusive interview with Villa News, Egan feels that Harrington should have been given another chance to review the incident.
“It was clear that the referee didn’t see Cash play the ball,” Egan stated. “Souček then planted his leg between Cash’s and went down. From the referee’s angle, he might have missed the contact Cash made. However, VAR clearly saw there was contact.”
Egan continued, “At the very least, they should have sent Harrington to the pitch-side monitor, but they didn’t. I’m certain the penalty would have been overturned if Harrington had been able to review it. VAR let the referee down in this instance.”
**Was West Ham Right to Be Awarded a Penalty Against Aston Villa?**
Ultimately, this decision didn’t impact Aston Villa’s outcome as they still managed to win and secure all three points. However, on another day, this could have been costly. The penalty decision was questionable, and it’s likely that West Ham fans wouldn’t have had much to argue about if VAR had overturned it. To prevent further controversy, these issues need to be addressed in the future.
In other Aston Villa news, the club has been backed to secure a last-minute loan-to-buy deal.
