Hackett stunned by PGMOL claim after Jarrod Bowen incident – ‘Fans will be amazed’
Keith Hackett has been left shocked by a statement from the PGMOL about the efficiency of VAR in the Premier League this season.
The former chief of the officiating body and ex-FIFA referee exclusively told Football Insider that fans will be amazed by claims that only 13 errors have been made by VAR in the Premier League this season.
Officiating in the Premier League has once again come under scrutiny in the coming campaign, not least for incidents such as the red card shown to Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly against Wolves.
However, with league bosses now giving their verdict on how things have worked with VAR this season, Hackett has been left shocked.
Keith Hackett reacts after Jarrod Bowen incident vs Chelsea
This week, a statement issued by the board of match officials in England claimed that VAR had made 13 errors so far this season.
The Premier League says that is down from 20 at the same stages of the previous campaign, although Hackett is not impressed with those claims.
The former referee feels fans will not agree with those figures, citing examples such as the foul on West Ham attacker Jarrod Bowen in the lead-up to Chelsea’s opening goal in their 2-1 win over the Hammers earlier this week as an example of incidents that have been missed.
Premier League VAR claims dismissed
Speaking to Football Insider about those figures around VAR errors issued by the PGMOL, Hackett said:
“This morning, the PGMOL have announced that only 13 errors have been made with VAR in the season to date, and that there is a marked improvement.
I ask: are you sure? Where are you getting the statistics from? And can you advise me where you have a situation like Bowen of West Ham United, who was fouled in the build-up to a goal by the opposition that VAR didn’t intervene and that goal was allowed to stand.
“That surely was an error, or do you put that in the file and forget column? Fans will be amazed that the PGMOL are stating only 13 errors. Wow!”
Amid the controversy that has surrounded some of those decisions, the Premier League will be hoping for a quieter end to the season than has been seen in recent weeks when it comes to officiating decisions.