Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says VAR showed ‘wrong angle’ for disallowed Alejandro Garnacho goal that ‘was onside’
Erik ten Hag, the coach of Ajax, expressed his belief that Alejandro Garnacho’s disallowed goal in their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal should have been allowed. The goal, scored by the Argentine international in the 88th minute, was ruled offside after a video review. However, Ten Hag argued that the review was conducted from the wrong angle.
Upon reviewing the VAR images, it became clear that Garnacho was slightly ahead of Gabriel Magalhaes when he was played through on goal. Lines drawn in the VAR room provided further evidence of his onside position. Despite this, Sky presenter Dave Jones maintained that “offside is offside.”
Ten Hag, while accepting the decision, defended his team and claimed that Rasmus Hojlund should have been awarded a penalty. He pointed out a clear foul on Jonny Evans that led to Arsenal’s goal.
The VAR intervention resulted in the score being reset to 1-1, but Arsenal ultimately secured a 3-1 victory with goals from Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus in stoppage time.
It is worth noting that the decision does not appear to be as straightforward when viewed from certain angles.
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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has expressed his frustration at a disallowed goal from Alejandro Garnacho during his side’s FA Cup fifth round match against Leicester City on Sunday.
Replays from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) showed that the Argentine forward was onside, however, the offside flag was reportedly raised on the field of play.
Speaking after the match, which Leicester won 3-1, Ten Hag said: “I think that VAR showed the wrong angle and so, if you see the distance between the defenders, he was onside. VAR has to look from the distance that (Garnacho) is from the defenders, and then you’ll see, because there was that much space, he was onside. So, for me, it was a goal.”
The situation is symptomatic of inaccurate use of the VAR system in the Premier League, which has been controversial in its introduction to the competition. Indeed, the match referee later apologised to Ten Hag’s team, although the damage was already done and the goal was not counted.
This incident serves as yet another example that the Premier League and its clubs should increase their focus on clarifying the use of VAR and make it easier for referees to interpret it accurately. This is particularly crucial when it comes to crucial decisions such as these which have a large bearing on the outcome of matches.