Well, here we go again with the VAR lottery at the City Ground.
Neco Williams thought he had bundled Nottingham Forest into the lead against Tottenham on Sunday, only for the officials to rip the goal away and leave everyone scratching their heads.
Williams made his feelings crystal clear after the final whistle, insisting the technology had no business getting involved.
“It’s a goal,” Williams told BBC Sports “VAR is there when there is a clear and obvious error, and for me, that is not clear and obvious. I’ve seen the images and the replays, and at not one moment did I think I handballed it.
“I headed it in between my arms. I knew straight away I’ve headed it down in between my arms. At a loss at that one. Disappointing.”
Halsey Backs Forest’s Anger
The Forest full-back has a powerful ally in former Premier League referee Mark Halsey, who watched the replays and concluded that the VAR panel overstepped the mark because the footage simply offered no definitive proof.
Sharing a video to outline his position, Halsey said: “Well, we’ve seen more controversy at the City Ground, where, second half, Nottingham Forest thought they’d taken the lead when Neco Williams bundled the ball into the back of the net.
“Referee Craig Pawson didn’t see anything wrong with the goal, gives the goal and as we know, VAR check all goals. VAR checked the goal and they felt there was an accidental handball prior to the ball going into the back of the net by Neco Williams.
“Now, if we look at the incident – [Morgan] Gibbs-White takes a shot, it deflects up off the Tottenham goalkeeper, [Sandro] Tonali fails to clear the ball and then there’s a coming together and the ball gets bundled into the goal giving Forest a 1-0 lead.
“Now, VAR have looked at it and felt that there was an accidental handball prior to the ball going into the back of the net. For me, it’s inconclusive – I’ve looked at it, and I’ve looked at it. I cannot tell whether it brushes his arm or it does not, so VAR have to be 100% – that the referee has made an on-field error, a clear and obvious error.
“And, in my opinion, it’s inconclusive. And I think Forest can feel well hard done by with that goal being disallowed for an accidental handball.”
Explanations That Fall Flat
The Premier League tried to justify the intervention via social media, pointing to the strict letter of the law regarding any touch of the arm immediately before a goal goes in.
“VAR checked the referee’s call of goal to Nottingham Forest – and determined that Williams handled the ball immediately before scoring and recommended that the goal was disallowed,” the Premier League’s official match centre posted on their X page.
Referee Craig Pawson doubled down on the pitch, explaining: “After review, the ball touches the hand of Nottingham Forest No.3 before the goal is scored. The final decision is a direct free-kick for Spurs.”
That controversial call keeps Forest waiting for their first win of the campaign following earlier defeats to Leeds United and a battling draw against Liverpool.
