West Ham Striker Michail Antonio Laments ‘Shambles’ of VAR, Urges Football to Revert to Previous State

West Ham striker Michail Antonio has expressed his frustration with VAR after controversy in their win over Wolves. In the match, Wolves had a late equalizer ruled out for offside in front of West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, leading Antonio to call VAR “a shambles.” Despite benefiting from the decision, Antonio criticized the technology on The Footballer’s Football Podcast.

On the podcast, Antonio argued that the offside call was incorrect and stated that he would prefer football to return to its previous state without VAR. He suggested that the technology has not improved the game and that the large investment in VAR has led to efforts to justify its use. Antonio compared the situation to meeting people who do not fit in your life and emphasized the need to let go of things that do not work.

When asked about the potential role of ex-players in the VAR decision-making process, Antonio dismissed the idea by highlighting the subjective nature of decisions in football. He pointed out that the many grey areas in the sport make VAR ineffective, leading to a loss of passion in the game. Antonio concluded by stating that it may be time to abandon VAR and return to a simpler approach to officiating matches.