Yet again, another weekend passes with VAR unfortunately making the headlines…
Wolves were on the end of another debatable decision or two this past weekend, with Gary O'Neil once again bemoaning the use of VAR to hand Fulham two spot-kicks and fail to send at least one of Marco Silva's men off.
Previously, Newcastle United's recent 1-0 victory over the visiting Arsenal was littered with controversial decisions. Firstly, Kai Havertz's forceful challenge on Sean Longstaff was only deemed worthy of a yellow, with some suggesting it warranted a greater punishment.
Bruno Guimarães' clubbing forearm on Jorginho wasn't deemed a red-card offence to the amazement of many, while Anthony Gordon's 64th-minute winner was checked by the VAR for a number of potential offences, though the goal stood. Mikel Arteta was visibly furious in the post-match presser, labelling the decision to award the goal a 'disgrace'.
That chaos spilt over into the following Monday's derby in north London, as Chelsea were on the receiving end of a few controversial decisions.
Tottenham Hotspur's Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero were sent off, but both could have been given their marching orders a lot earlier in the fiery encounter, as the pair perhaps warranted red cards for serious foul play and violent conduct respectively.
So, after a pretty hectic weekend in the Premier League, the spotlight is once again on the division's officiating.
That has led Football FanCast to create a list of some of the worst VAR decisions since the start of last season. It seems a new low is being set this year!
16 Soucek handball incident vs Chelsea
11 February 2023: West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
Chelsea were left incensed after the referee denied their claims of a penalty following a handball in the penalty area by West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek.
Conor Gallagher's low strike looked to be heading on target before Soucek's hand diverted the ball away from goal into the hands of Łukasz Fabiański.
VAR did not intervene to award the penalty to the surprise of many, with Craig Pawson and Neil Swarbrick at fault.
It appears the officials thought the hand was in a natural position and therefore deemed it as not a deliberate attempt to handle the ball.
BT Sport's (now TNT Sports) referee pundit Peter Walton believed it was the incorrect decision.
"The law is quite clear, it actually says unnaturally bigger. VAR clearly thinks the arm was in a natural position to break his fall.
When you analyse it, you can see it's past his knee and then he decides. For me, it's deliberate and I'm disappointed VAR did not give the referee the opportunity to have a second look," Walton said.
15 Estupinan goal disallowed vs Crystal Palace
11 February 2023: Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton
Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan had his goal wrongly disallowed due to the offside lines being drawn against the wrong Crystal Palace player.
The video assistant referee who made the error was subsequently withdrawn from the next two Premier League matches he was scheduled to officiate.
The incident was put down to 'human error' in a statement released by the PGMOL.
Lee Mason was the man at fault in this instance.
For De Zerbi's men, that error turned out to cost them three points in the M23 derby.
14 Martinelli disallowed goal vs Manchester United
4 September 2022: Manchester United 3-1 Arsenal
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard nicked possession off Christian Eriksen in the build-up to Gabriel Martinelli's opening goal at Old Trafford last September.
However, the goal was disallowed by VAR, who deemed Odegaard to have fouled Eriksen, which was a controversial call, to say the least.
The referee on the day was Paul Tierney, with Lee Mason the VAR official.
The verdict was later judged incorrect by a panel comprising of three former players, a representative from the Premier League and the PGMOL.
The North Londoners went onto the lose the game by a two-goal deficit but had that goal stood, things could've turned out differently, to Mikel Arteta's frustration.
13 Luiz red card vs Fulham
20 October 2022: Fulham 3-0 Aston Villa
Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz was shown a straight red card for violent conduct after clashing with Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The Brazillian was judged to have pushed his head into the Serbian, but his red card was later rescinded and he did not serve a suspension.
The referee on the day was Michael Oliver, with Paul Tierney on VAR.
It capped a rotten night for Steven Gerrard, who was sacked later that evening after his 10-man side fell to a 3-0 defeat to the Cottagers.
12 Henderson penalty incident vs Brentford
5 November 2022: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Brentford
Brentford forward Yoane Wissa rounded Forest's goalkeeper Dean Henderson but fluffed his lines and failed to convert.
However, VAR deemed the United loanee to have brought down the fast-moving Wissa and subsequently awarded the penalty, which Bryan Mbeumo scored.
Henderson's arm remained almost still in the action and it appeared the Bees forward ran into it rather than a cynical foul.
Steve Cooper said after the match: "My feeling on the penalties and VAR is, if the one he's given against us is a penalty, then he has to give four in the game."
The referee on the day was Andre Marriner, with Lee Mason once again on VAR.
11 Mitchell own goal disallowed vs Crystal Palace
3 September 2022: Newcastle United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Newcastle thought they'd taken the lead after Palace left-back Tyrick Mitchell turned the ball into the back of his own net. But VAR intervened and ruled the goal out.
Eagles 'keeper Vicente Guaita found himself on the deck after Joe Willock collided into him, however, replays showed that it was Mitchell who pushed the Newcastle player into his keeper.
The referee, who was recommended to the onfield monitor, clearly missed the push as he focused on the contact made between Willock and Guaita.
It was a game that ended goalless, which made it even harder to stomach for Eddie Howe's side. The Newcastle boss gave his thoughts on the controversial decision after the match.
"I disagree with the decision. I thought it should be a goal. I thought Joe was pushed. He is running in and is pushed into the keeper. I am not sure what Joe is supposed to do there. For me it is a perfectly good goal," Howe said.
The referee on the day was Michael Salisbury, with Lee Mason on VAR.
10 Romero pulls Cucurella's hair vs Tottenham Hotspur
14 August 2022: Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea's left-back Marc Cucurella had his hair pulled by Spurs centre-back Cristian Romero as a corner kick came into the box. It was checked by VAR, but rather surprisingly, they decided against taking action.
The laws of the game do not name hair pulling as a foul, let alone violent conduct, so it is down to the referee and VAR's judgement, who on this occasion saw no wrongdoing.
The Chelsea defender spoke about the incident post-match, saying: "For me, it is too clear in the game, on the pitch. I didn't see it on the TV, the video. I think it's very clear, but this is one error of the referee or VAR."
Thomas Tuchel also vented his frustrations at the VAR blunder: "Since when can we pull hair in a football match? They checked and nothing happened — absolutely ridiculous," the Blues boss said.
It appears the rules may need adding to…
Anthony Taylor was the referee on the day, with Mike Dean on VAR.
9 Digne handball vs Crystal Palace
20 August 2022: Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa
Villa's Lucas Digne was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his own penalty area after Marc Guehi's header struck his arm at close range.
It wasn't initially awarded as a penalty by the on-field referee, but VAR intervened and awarded the South Londoners the spot kick.
It was completely accidental by Digne, who was jumping naturally to try and head the ball clear. Guehi's header travelled all of one to two yards before it struck the Frenchman's arm, leaving him little to no chance of moving it out of the way as he began to land back on his feet.
The decision was later deemed incorrect by the aforementioned independent panel, but that didn't compensate Villa for the goal they conceded as a result…
The referee on the day was Andy Madley, with John Brooks on VAR.
8 Cornet disallowed goal vs Chelsea
3 September 2022: Chelsea 2-1 West Ham United
The Hammers thought they'd clinched a 90th-minute equaliser when Maxwell Cornet fired home a well-struck shot, but a highly-controversial VAR decision ensued, as the goal was disallowed.
In the build-up, Jarrod Bowen was deemed to have fouled Chelsea shot-stopper, Edouard Mendy, but replays showed only the slightest bit of contact.
David Moyes was left seething post-match. "It is a scandalous decision, absolutely rotten from one of the supposedly elite referees," the Irons manager said.
The ruled-out goal sunk West Ham into the bottom three as a result.
The referee on the day was Andy Madley, with Jarred Gillett on VAR duty.
7 Toney goal vs Arsenal
11 February 2023: Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
Ivan Toney's 74th-minute equaliser wrongfully stood after VAR failed to draw the correct offside lines. The officials were focused on whether a block from Ethan Pinnock on Gabriel amounted to an offside.
However, they did not examine Christian Norgaard, who was in an offside position when he delivered the ball for Toney to head home into an empty net.
Mikel Arteta said after the game: "I just looked at it back and it is offside. We'll probably be given an explanation later in the week but today we haven't got any.
"It's too late, the goal was allowed, we dropped two points."
This led to Lee Mason actually leaving his position at PGMOL.
Another blunder that swayed the final result…