Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher is one of many calling for VAR to be scrapped after yet another night of controversy in the Champions League and for Manchester United.
Man United saw what looked like it was going to be a convincing and much-needed win against FC Copenhagen after taking an early 2-0 lead on Wednesday night turn into yet more questionable officiating as Marcus Rashford received a very dubious red card.
After being dismissed by referee Donatas Rumsas, the Red Devils were facing nearly an hour of playing with nine men after a pitch invader, a medical emergency in the crowd and an injury to Johnny Evans saw a whopping 13 minutes added time tacked onto the first half.
No way is that a red card for Rashford! Hate these slow motion replays & still images that make everything look 10 times worse. #Champions_League#COPMUN
Carragher was vocal on VAR and the referee’s performances throughout the United vs Copenhagen game.
Speaking on the sending-off, the likes of ex-United players Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves said, “Not in a million years,” and, “They have to stop re-refereeing these games like that because it’s ruining it. That’s where the game changed…”
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Going on to explain that Rashford was simply “planting his leg down and protecting the ball”, Scholes went on to insist that it was “not a nasty challenge and totally accidental”, adding that “the referee’s understanding of the game has to come into question.”
But the chaos didn’t stop there — not even close — as still playing inside the extended first half, Harry Maguire was simply unfortunate enough to see the ball bounce off his arm and the referee point to the spot for what wouldn’t be the first time on the night as Bruno Fernandes went on to benefit from the same decision at the other end 20 minutes later.
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The handball rule has virtually become any contact with the arm, whether accidental or not, leading to a penalty these days and despite protests from both teams, Diogo Gonçalves converted his spot-kick to equalise before Fernandes did the same to put United back ahead, leading Carra to once again chime in with a call for the increasingly divisive refereeing system to be binned off entirely.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 The game has gone! Get rid of VAR, that’s a disgrace. #ChampionsLeague
Many called Carragher out for being a hypocrite after defending VAR just this past weekend.
Erik ten Hag‘s side ultimately went on to concede two more following defensive mistakes from Diogo Dalot and Raphael Varane but, in his mind, the first two shouldn’t have stood in the first place either.
Not only did the Dutchman point out that the penalty was typically harsh (as he argued has often been the case for them this season) but that a player was stood in front of keeper André Onana for the first goal — the same reason Scott McTominay’s goal was chalked off at the weekend.
Speaking to TNT Sport post-match, ten Hag said his team played some of their best football in the opening 25 minutes or so and were the victims of bad luck once again, insisting that the tide will turn.
“Not only tonight. We have to deal with many decisions against us in other games” 🫣
Posting on X, football writer Kaustubh Pandey argued: “VAR has now lost so much accountability in the eyes of a normal fan in this rush to black/white every important football decision and to go the theoretical way in a very practical sport. It will now never fulfil the original purpose.”
United now have just three points in their opening four games of this year’s UCL having conceded a penalty in each of them and now having lost nine of their opening 17 matches for the first time since the 1973/74 season — the last season they were relegated.
The club is breaking lots of unwanted records under ten Hag but with VAR having resulted in a minus-five in net goal score in the Prem alone, it’s understandable that most Reds feel like so many decisions are going against them at the moment. United fan or not, do you agree with Carragher — would you get rid of VAR?
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You can watch all the highlights of Man United’s Champions League meltdown below:
United can now only qualify if they win their remaining two games and the Danish side beat both Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
Luke Littler is challenging amateurs to beat him at darts as part of a live Netflix event
Danny Jones
In an unprecedented new sports event in the world of streaming, North West sports star Luke Little is offering people the chance to try and win a game of darts against him live on Netflix.
Best of all, he and the entertainment platform have put up a huge grand prize for anyone who can beat the Warrington wonder.
So, for any of you who fancy yourselves as Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor reincarnated when stepping up to the oche down at the local, or if you’re simply bold enough to throw your name in the hat, you’ll want to pay attention for this one…
Announcing the special one-off sporting event on Netflix later this year, Luke Littler has issued the call-out to see if anyone can best him in a game of 501 in front of millions watching at home.
Quite literally the opportunity of a lifetime for fans of the arrows, this exclusive livestream is like nothing that the media giants have done before.
Having dipped their toes into the likes of live boxing fights over the past few years, they’ve definitely got a few live events under their belt, but this exciting and crucially interactive series of matches feels like something genuinely new for Netflix.
Most notably of all, using the name of the popular darts game played not only live on telly at competitions throughout the year but also at countless pubs across the country to set the prize fee, a prospective winner could potentially win £501k this autumn.
Imagine: half a million pounds for one (admittedly very tough) game of darts.
The only major caveat aside from, you know, him being an absolute phenom and already a serial winner is he also happens to be in the form of his life – his words and virtually everyone else’s.
"This is the best version of myself… I'm playing SO WELL!"
Luke Littler listens to some of the records he's broken in his ridiculous World Matchplay campaign 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EVQSrHxSHf
Having smashed Gerwyn Price to defend his World Matchplay Darts title on Sunday evening, cruising to an 18-9 victory with so many 100+ visits and finishes that he broke the tournament’s record average, which has stood since 2010, anyone who does come up against him is currently praying for a miracle.
Price himself told Sky Sports that the youngster’s performance looked ‘effortless’, quipping, “I hope there’s nobody else like him coming through!”
Still only 19, the local lad is the toughest of tasks for even the best on the pro circuit, but if you still somehow fancy your chances, heats will be taking place in Manchester and London, where the top 20 players will get their shot at the man himself on Friday, 30 October.
You can find out all the important information and sign up right HERE.
For now, why not see just how good Littler is playing at the minute and watch back his highlights from a record-breaking final this weekend?
Not that he’s ever truly cooled off, but he really is on fire at the minute.
Manchester City auctioning off exclusive ‘artefacts’ from Pep Guardiola’s office
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to auction off a limited number of used and/or signed items previously owned by legendary football manager Pep Guardiola himself.
The iconic Catalan head coach may have now left the club, but it’s fair to say that supporters are still grieving the bittersweet goodbye – and if you’re one of them, then this might be a good way of clinging on to him and the memories.
Teaming up with MatchWornShirt, an authentic collectables company that deals in memorabilia used by the sporting stars themselves, fans will soon be able to own a ‘piece of Pep’ if they so wish as part of this very special merchandise dump.
So, if you’re a collector of signed or match-worn merch, here’s a taster of what’s up for grabs:
Several items from @PepTeam's office are up for auction 🤝
Yes, should they be willing to put in the winning bid, Blues can genuinely own some of Guardiola‘s office knick-nacks, a tactics board and notes scribed on by the man himself, as well as his actual chair and even his whistle.
Does that count as kissing him? That’s not for us to say…
There is more standard fare, of course, such as worn training kits, photo frames, programmes and other printed media – almost all of which are signed by the 55-year-old.
On the other hand, if you’re so inclined to go for the super rare stuff, you can even buy his desk lamp and go-to coffee cups; whatever floats your boat.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss left Etihad Stadium this summer after 10 years as a Cityzen – with the club even releasing a dedicated ‘Decade Collection’ in his honour – and it now looks as though he could be set for his next job.
His former assistant turned replacement and ex-U23s/Elite Development Squad (EDS), Enzo Maresca, is now in place and making his first impressions on the City squad; safe to say it’ll take some work to leave the same lasting legacy as his mentor.
As for the auction, the club have labelled these exclusive trinkets as “artefacts”, promising that you won’t get many other opportunities, if any, to claim this kind of ‘KeePepsake’.
Meanwhile, in other MCFC news, the City Football Group (CFG) are taking steps to ensure local fans have easier access to matchday tickets with a new postcode lottery, of sorts.
Danny Jones -
9th November 2023 
