United have said they will make a formal complaint<\/a> to referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited over what they feel was clear inconsistency in the decisions during the match at Vitality Stadium.<\/p>\n Harry Maguire was sent off for pulling back Evanilson inside the box as United led 2-1 with 10 minutes to go.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n But that came just 10 minutes after Amad Diallo was denied a penalty for a similar incident at the other end, while United had also earlier been awarded a penalty for what United boss Michael Carrick deemed to be a comparable foul on Matheus Cunha.<\/p>\n Carrick said it was the inconsistency that he found “baffling” and did not understand how the referee “can give one and not the other”.<\/p>\n Shearer agreed and said: “You should have given a penalty when you gave two like that. How on earth do you not give another one.”<\/p>\n VAR has been in operation in the Premier League since the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign but, after another season of controversy, delayed decisions and confusion, its use has once again been called into question.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock said it is the “worst thing that has been introduced to the game”.<\/p>\n “I think it has ruined it. It’s ruined the enjoyment in stadiums. I think it’s ruined it for referees to officiate. I think that it’s a little bit of a safety blanket every time they referee,” he told Radio 5 Live.<\/p>\n “VAR isn’t perfect, it isn’t great, it makes mistakes and it’s still subjective, which is a huge problem, and I just think it’s a poor addition to the game.”<\/p>\n Earlier this week it was announced that Europe’s top leagues have been summoned to a meeting with Uefa in the summer to discuss how VAR technology is being used.<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The summit of referee chiefs from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will discuss how to reset VAR to its intended interpretation of only intervening for the clearest of errors and not “microscopic interventions”.<\/p>\n In 2024 Wolves submitted a resolution to the Premier League which triggered a vote on the continued use of VAR.<\/p>\n The league claimed there would be 100 more incorrect refereeing decisions<\/a> made per season if clubs voted to scrap the technology and clubs eventually voted in favour of keeping it.<\/a><\/p>\n ‘Clubs have selective memory when decisions go against them’ – analysis<\/p>\n At the end of every season the Premier League’s stakeholders – that’s coaches, captains and fans, among others – are asked for their opinion on how the game is refereed.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Last summer the high threshold for VAR intervention was supported by 80%.<\/p>\n Clubs may feel they have been wronged, as Manchester United were at Bournemouth.<\/p>\n But they don’t mention the times they benefited from this high threshold.<\/p>\n Like the push by Leny Yoro before United scored at Fulham, or the penalty for Jaydee Canvot’s hold on Cunha (which also led to a VAR red card), or Diogo Dalot’s potential red-card challenge on Jeremy Doku.<\/p>\n Clubs have selective memory when decisions go against them.<\/p>\n There have been fewer VAR interventions this season, but the accuracy has remained the same at 94%.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n PGMOL would probably say that shows more decisions are being made on the field rather than being left to VAR.<\/p>\n The independent Key Match Incidents Panel results say that on-field accuracy has remained stable, at 86%, since 2023-24.<\/p>\n Take that on face value and on-field standards have neither improved nor regressed.<\/p>\n English football’s biggest problem is that it doesn’t know what it wants.<\/p>\n It doesn’t like VAR getting involved in games.<\/p>\n The Premier League has the lowest intervention rate in Europe, but then you get clubs saying it must intervene more when a decision doesn’t go their way.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Clubs are always unhappy when a decision goes against them.<\/p>\n But they are strangely silent when they are the beneficiaries.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/.gif\"\/)
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