Tottenham have stormed to the top of the Premier League table after winning six of their first eight top-flight matches this season. The Lilywhites have been rejuvenated by Ange Postecoglou, who took the helm at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer. But, incredibly, Spurs would have two more points if there was no VAR, which means they are currently the biggest losers from the use of the technology.
VAR has come under fire time and time again this season due to its laborious nature and general inconsistencies. VAR’s biggest failure came when Liverpool winger Luis Diaz had a goal ruled out for offside against Spurs at the end of last month even though he was clearly onside when the ball was played through to him by Mohamed Salah.
That mistake was down to human error as VAR Darren England and assistant VAR Daniel Cook failed to overturn the original decision after checking the footage. But the incident illustrates just how fragile the technology can be.
Despite benefitting from the mistake on that occasion, VAR has proved costly to Tottenham in other matches as it has overturned decisions that would have handed them two more points overall. Without VAR, Spurs would have 22 points rather than 20 points and would have a three-point advantage over second-place Arsenal as the Gunners would have had one of their points chalked off. The two north London giants are currently level pegging.
Manchester City would still be third on 18 points without VAR as their results would have been the same, but Liverpool would be alongside them instead of one point behind. Meanwhile, Premier League giants Manchester United would have an extra point and would move up one place to ninth.
Burnley would have also benefited in the same manner as Tottenham as they would also have accumulated an extra two points and would be 17th in the table instead of 18th. Brighton would be the biggest losers without VAR as poor decisions would have cost them a couple of points.
England and Cook were temporarily removed from officiating duties following their blunder in north London but will return to action this weekend when Premier League football resumes following the international break. England has been named as the fourth official for Brentford’s home clash with Burnley on Saturday, while Cook will be the assistant referee when Sheffield United host Manchester United.
“PGMOL can confirm that we have carried out a review into the circumstances which led to the Luis Diaz goal being incorrectly disallowed for offside in the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Liverpool FC,” read a statement from the PGMOL earlier this month. We recognise standards fell short of expectations and acknowledged the error to Liverpool immediately after the conclusion of the fixture.”
