It has to stop: Pundit blast VAR after admitting to another Nottingham Forest error vs Fulham
Nottingham Forest found themselves on the receiving end of some more controversial decisions on Saturday, with one of them in particular looking like a big blunder.
Nuno Espirito Santo must feel like he’s been battling two opposition at times over the past year, with refereeing and VAR decisions baffling many at times.
Nottingham Forest‘s unbeaten streak came to an end thanks to a penalty from Raul Jimenez.
However, the circumstances that the penalty were given in weren’t great.
Murillo was adjudged to have brought down a Fulham player by stepping on the back of his heel, which did look harsh at the time as he wasn’t even looking at the player.
Interestingly, there was a separate incident in the game that we believe VAR got wrong.
VAR appears to make big error with Anthony Elanga penalty decision
As can be seen from the image above, Anthony Elanga had the ball in his possession in the box, only to have his ankle taken out by Calvin Bassey.
It’s mind-boggling to think that both VAR and the referee couldn’t see a clear and obvious error, despite even a still image showing Bassey’s leg coming through the back of Elanga. It even bends his ankle.
A penalty kick is awarded if a player commits a direct free kick offence inside their penalty area, and you can’t deny that anywhere else on the field this would be deemed as a free-kick.
The one thing that annoys fans the most is the inconsistencies.
There was a penalty incident last season when Ashley Young kicked through the back of Giovanni Reyna’s foot at Goodison Park, which wasn’t given. This isn’t too dissimilar to the Murillo one.
“You see I thought this was a penalty. I feel like he goes through Elanga first to sweep the ball, I thought that was a penalty.”
Dermot Gallagher was of the opposite view, as he said this.
“I think it’s a really difficult one to call that, he catches him but is there enough for him to go down like that? That for me is not a clear and obvious error.”
Whether it’s soft or not, you can’t win the ball by coming through a player, as it offers the defender an unfair advantage.
