‘Some in charge of VAR haven’t even refereed’ – Mark Halsey unhappy with PGMOL leadership | OneFootball

As has become a common occurrence in the Premier League since its introduction, VAR continues to cause a commotion.

This past weekend saw a number of contentious decisions befall the men-in-the-middle and those at Stockley Park, and, once again, the officials got it wrong.

Unfortunately, that’s come as no real surprise to former Premier League referee, Mark Halsey.

“There are so many inconsistencies with VAR,” he told CaughtOffside.

“Look at the Jordan Henderson goal at the weekend. If you can’t tell Mane is offside after three, four, five, six watches, then it’s a goal.

“Yes, offside is factual, but the technology isn’t 100% accurate and you can always find something there if you look long enough.

“I still can’t tell which part of Mane’s body was offside!

“The problem is the leadership at PGMOL (the referee’s governing body), because some of those behind the scenes and in charge of VAR haven’t even refereed.”

Given what’s at stake in each and every game, and we’re not even at the business end of the season yet where arguably a poor refereeing decision could make or break a side’s Champions League aspirations for example, that just isn’t good enough.

PGMOL’s finest don’t do themselves any favours either by consistently getting the big decisions wrong.

Is it any wonder then, that football players, managers, supporters, journalists and the like are demanding a better standard of refereeing at the top level.

What will it take for the change to occur?

Not even Jordan Pickford’s “career-ending” challenge – according to Halsey – on Virgil van Dijk has brought Mike Riley out from the shadows.