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.
Manchester United agree record streaming deal for new Amazon documentary TV series
Danny Jones
Manchester United have officially agreed a record sporting TV deal for a brand-new documentary TV series on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
That’s right, Man United are getting the All Or Nothing treatment.
With the Red Devils finishing the 2025/26 season much stronger than they started it, they’re now set to invite a film crew into the dressing room and the newly refurbished Carrington training complex for the upcoming campaign.
Although there have been many United documentaries over the years, everything from big budget and smaller indie projects to fan-made, this new show looks set to give a more exclusive present day peak behind the curtain of the club’s modern-day set-up than ever before.
While it remains unclear whether or not this past term’s exploits – be it the drama of the Ruben Amorim era, or the upturn under Michael Carrick – are set to be included, as the official announcement teases, the Amazon series will provide behind-the-scenes MUFC throughout the 26/27 term.
There was an opportunity to accept this kind of coverage shortly after INEOS invested in the business, but Amorim put a rather public kibosh on the offer to preserve the backroom’s privacy and prevent any unnecessary intrusion.
Understandably, a lot of people agree with the decision, especially given the team was not just in another state of flux but at a crucial turning point under their then-new boss.
Taking a more old-school manager approach, it may have been seen as a sensible step, but it wouldn’t have mattered either way, as the Portuguese head coach (who now looks set to join AC Milan) was eventually sacked after just over a year in charge.
Nevertheless, many supporters are still reticent about the prospect of lifting the lid on an organisation that has famously seen plenty of turbulence. The fan base will just be hoping for a season to remember for the right reasons while the cameras are running for a reportedly record
Really not a fan of this – I wonder what someone like Carrick thinks of this? Additional scrutiny and pressure in his first full season as Head Coach.
The two most recent Premier League champions, Arsenal and Man City, have both seen seasons of Amazon’s now well-known docuseries before going on to win landmark titles, so perhaps it could be a good omen; who knows?
Conversely, Sunderland – who were infamously selected as one of the first subjects of this all-access kind of series – arguably ended up putting more unnecessary spotlight on their struggles.
As for those under the All Or Nothing umbrella, Spurs, Juventus and even the German international have also served as examples of how the big payout may not always be worth the bad press, with all three having gone through plenty of trials and tribulations in and around the respective versions airing.
Let’s just say that, reportedly ‘record’ sums or not, this could still go one way or the other…
While it’s still unclear as to the actual figure Manchester United will be taking home as part of the package with Amazon, this is yet another example of the steady Americanisation of association football, starting with the NFL and ice hockey before now drawing even wider audiences to the beautiful game.
Manchester City sign Beth Mead as European champion Lioness completes major transfer move to WSL title rivals
Danny Jones
In a major move for recently crowned champions Manchester City, two-time Euros winner Beth Mead has completed a switch from title Women’s Super League (WSL) rivals Arsenal.
This one is sure to cause quite the stir, especially given the players that have been transferred between them in the past.
Announcing the signing on Friday, 12 June, Man City Women confirmed the done deal in a social media post that also revealed she will don the number seven shirt.
With City having finally won the first title in over a decade earlier this year – only their second in the modern era – the England Women’s star and WSL heavyweight didn’t mince her words on arrival, telling the club and its fans: “I’m here to win.”
The 31-year-old from Whitby spent the best part of nine years at Arsenal, during which time she has also gone on to become one of the most prolific Lionesses under Sarina Wiegman.
Boasting not only 81 national team caps to her name, but also having scored 40 times in his career thus far (her assists included, guaranteeing at least a goal contribution every other game, on average), she’s been one of the most dangerous female forwards in Europe for some time now.
Speaking in a club statement, she said: “City have always played beautiful football, but I think this season they’ve been very cutthroat in front of goal, [found] different ways of scoring, different ways of creating goalscoring opportunities.
“I think that’s been the difference: they’ve found ways to score and win games when it’s been cagey, or whether it’s felt easy and you become complacent. I think that’s been the difference this season for City winning.”
Having already linked up with fellow England star Alex Greenwood upon making her first appearance at Man City’s brand new women’s football facility, she went on to add: “I’ve played with a lot of the players in the team, I’ve watched a lot of players in the team over the years and in the season gone [by], and I think that’s what created a lot of excitement.
They’ve aimed to set a new industry standard for the women’s game.
Penning a first MCWFC contract this week, she has signed a deal until the summer of 2029; both she and City supporters will no doubt be hoping she can add at least one more piece of silverware by the end of the 2026/27 campaign.
With head coach Andrée Jeglertz now looking to mount a title defence over at the Etihad Campus, and the Women’s World Cup in Brazil getting underway this time next year, Mead will obviously be looking to hit the ground running ahead of her first season in sky blue.
There is undoubtedly an element of curiosity to see who will have the better overall performance this upcoming term between her and national teammate Chloe Kelly, with the latter ex-City player having left the club for the red side of north London instead.
Speaking of cities split into two halves, football-wise, elsewhere in transfer news, Manchester United have also been linked to a new attacker of their own – it remains to be seen how strong the interest is going both ways…
Danny Jones -
9th November 2023 
