Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville’s heated debate on competence of referees, VAR flaws and ‘nonsense’ laws after more drama in West Ham vs Aston Villa

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville clashed last night on the issue of referees and VAR following another Premier League fixture marred by the technology.

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins was denied an injury time equaliser against West Ham when his shirt sleeve was adjudged to be offside.

VAR again chalked off a goal by the finest of margins, taking several minutes to come to the decision, and it’s the latest in a long line of questionable calls.

Carragher and Neville debated VAR’s problems on Monday Night Football coming to slightly different conclusions.

The former Liverpool defender believes it has exposed referees’ shortcomings and claims they are getting obsessed with the smallest details which means they are missing big things.

Neville, on the other hand, sympathised with officials a little more and believed VAR would be more acceptable if the ‘nonsense’ handball and offside rules were changed.

Read their full exchange on Sky Sports below:

Carragher: “This was brought in to help referees but let’s not forget we were all calling for it; managers were calling for it when they were getting big decisions wrong, referees need help.

“I actually think in some ways VAR has exposed referees. I don’t think it’s been as big a help to them and exposed them having a look at second incidents.

“They are so obsessed with something that they don’t see the bigger picture, maybe it’s the pressure of looking at something.

“They are so obsessed with looking for that offside there and getting the lines that they missed the foul.

“It goes back to [Jordan] Pickford and Virgil van Dijk. They’re so obsessed with seeing if Virgil van Dijk was offside in that or if there was someone offside they actually miss the foul.

“Sometimes they are so obsessed with looking at something.

“There was something last year, Aston Villa again against Manchester United. Was it a foul on [Bruno] Fernandes and they were so obsessed with looking for this foul that Fernandes fouled the other way. Manchester United actually got a penalty.

“I don’t think it’s been a massive help for them. This nonsense of going to the screen has got to stop.

Neville: “Going to the screen is not the problem.”

Carragher: “I know for a fact, I was listening on a game and when he goes he is not looking at that screen and seeing if he’s made a mistake or stick with his decision.

“He is getting told by Stockley Park where the infringement was because I heard it. I spoke to the referee and he said that was the case.

Neville: “Going to the screen is not the problem. What’s happened is that a referee’s authority is now being questioned and their credibility is being questioned and they are even doubting themselves.

Sky Sports

“Referees going over to the screen is not a problem. Referees going over to the screen and not sticking to their decision when it’s right is a problem. That’s the problem.

“It’s the application of the technology that’s the big problem at this time or the rules themselves.

“The handball rule is a nonsense, the offside rule about the arm is a nonsense. Those two rules need changing and at that point VAR will become more acceptable.

“When referees go over to the screen they’ve got to have the nerve to say to that guy in Stockley Park no, I’m sticking to it.

“That’s the problem at the moment, it looks like they’ve been programmed like robots. They need to chill out and relax, go with their feeling when they go over to that screen and say, ‘no I’m comfortable with my decision’.

BT Sport

“They are briefed like mad and programmed to the nth degree. Their authority is now being taken away and the biggest problem I’ll come back to is the fans hate this thing so they have to change it.

“There shouldn’t be this element of terror. This element of terror should have been years ago when they didn’t have the support of technology and they were getting things wrong and they were getting battered left, right and centre from fans and players and us on the pitch.

“We were bad on the pitch, by the way, to referees. It’s only now after finishing that you realise how difficult a job it is when you are commentating and you got decisions wrong four times in a game and they have to see it at 100mph at eye-level. It’s a tough job.”