Antonio and players say game is being “messed up”

By Hughie Southon

Mikey Antonio has savaged VAR and has probably brought a lot of allies alongside him and the players whom he claims believe it has messed up the game.

No argument here having come from a generation where arguing about decisions on the way home was a fun side line to the match we had just watched.

Not all feel the same way as in conversation with our beloved late chairman David Gold he was among those believing TV was required.

Frankly, VAR is changing the game to a point where although football won’t become unrecognisable will certainly suffer further in our view.

Waiting for a result of VAR is a horrible sideline to the mistakes (remember Cornet and Chelsea) which have left us fuming.

Mikey makes his points in the strongest possible declaring: “Put it in the bin. The amount of money the Premier League makes every year, it doesn’t matter how much they’ve spent on it – they can bin it now and save money in future.

“It’s messed up the game so I feel it needs to be put in the bin. The players feel it needs to be put in the bin because the same big decisions they’re messing up are the same big decisions the referee can make on the day and mess up.

“Referees are no longer making decisions because of VAR, linesmen are no longer making decisions because of VAR.

“At the end of the day I preferred to know when I’d scored a goal becasue the ball’s gone in, or [it’s been disallowed because] the lino’s put up his flag – rather than you score a goal and constantly have to wait and go. ‘Did you score? Were you offside? I don’t know. Did anyone hand ball it ten hours ago?’ Let the game be a game.”