Sheffield United Manager's Relationship With VAR Hit Rock Bottom

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was confused by VAR when his team lost 0-1 to Aston Villa in the Premier League, Tuesday morning. The squad even had to play with 10 players for most of the match.

Wilder was confused after John Egan was shown a red card in the 12th minute for tugging at Villa striker Ollie Watkins' shirt.

Referee Graham Scott was some distance away from the incident but ruled it a foul that thwarted a scoring opportunity and sent Egan off the pitch early, even though the linesman did not raise the flag to signal a foul.

Wilder, who was late at the press conference for trying to ask the referee about the incident, said the incident should have been checked by VAR and Scott should have looked at the pitchside monitor.

"I absolutely do not understand why the decision was straight away as a red card and there was no dialogue with the assistant referee," Wilder said as quoted by Antara.

"It's hard to believe 100 percent of Graham's position behind the two players that they're not holding each other. My big question is that the assistant referee is 10 yards away and has the clearest view and he's made the decision not to raise the flag as a sign of a foul."

"I've been completely confused as a professional player and manager for the last 35 years. I was even more confused tonight."

Wilder's team's net goal was disallowed against Villa in June when goal-line technology failed in the first game after the Premier League rolled back in after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last season Sheffield United also had their goal disallowed by VAR against Tottenham Hotspur when John Lundstram's foot was declared offside after a long decision-making process.

To make matters worse, what happened on Tuesday morning was when Wilder thought Villa player Matt Targett should have been sent off for violating Chris Basham, who was admittedly resulting in a penalty in the first half whose penalty execution by Lundstram was well countered by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

"He (Bash) got in the way of our players, the chances were dashed and it was a red card," said Wilder. "It was a red card, he stopped his chances of scoring. Even if he (Lundstram) missed a penalty, it should still be 10 against 10."