Luton – VAR Penalty Decision Derided By Hatters Support
Soccer Football - Premier League - Luton Town v West Ham United - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - September 1, 2023 Luton Town fans inside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
I am sure that the main topic of conversation of those who filed out of Kenilworth Road, last night, was the VAR penalty decision.
When the ball struck the outstretched arm of James Ward Prowse the Kenilworth Road end, in unison, screamed for a penalty, it looked a dead cert.
Instead the referee, Paul Tierney, waved on and a VAR check also found nothing amiss.
Now, I had plans to dissect the decision and try to comprehend just why a penalty wasn’t give but, instead, I found the perfection justification from Sky Sports, respected pundit, Gary Neville, who after the game, in his post-match analysis, remarked:
“It’s not luck. I think Luton could have done with a better decision. When the ball comes from that distance, you can’t even think about whether the arm is close to the body or not, it can’t hit your arm flush when it’s comes from 30 yards away. For me that’s a penalty all day long. He turns his head away and doesn’t know where the ball is. Honestly, it’s a penalty.
“If Paul Tierney doesn’t give it, I think VAR has to send him to the monitor. They’re over-thinking things. They’re sat there in Stockley Park, they’re removed from the atmosphere of the game, and they’re over-thinking it.”
I couldn’t have put it better myself.
However, in his own post-match interview, Rob Edwards was, also as reported by Sky Sports Was a little more becoming of a diplomat when pressed on the possible late penalty, remarking:
“I’m hearing a lot of noise about it before we came in. If we are on the wrong end of a decision I will be very disappointed as those are huge for us. But I can’t stand here and blame it.”
They say these decisions, over the course of a season, balance themselves out, but do they?
The Hatters support, on social media, were also critical of the decision, as the following posts show:
That was definitely a penalty for you at the end
— Stephen 🏴 (@Stephen__NHS) September 1, 2023
Robbed by the referees. How on earth was that not a penalty i dont even know the rule anymore
— Chong Enjoyer 🇨🇼 (@PRuddzBurner) September 1, 2023
I’m not even sure I do, looking at the incident again and again.
Shocking decision at the end that’s a sour taste in the mouth
— nick (@itsnick_bp) September 1, 2023
And, if you are in any doubt, the picture attached to the following post, says it all!
Robbed of a pen though pic.twitter.com/7swAPruUpJ
— Lord Osho 👑 🇳🇬 (@OshoSZN) September 1, 2023
Wouldn’t it be heartbreaking if that awful decision was to cost us dearly at the end of the season, assuming, of course, the penalty was successfully converted?
COYH’s
Should Luton Have Been Awarded A Stoppage Time Penalty
Previous article by Mad Hatter
Luton – The Views Of Honest Rob – West Ham (h)