It sure seems like VAR would have been helpful on that Willy Boly handball goal
By Josh Hill
Man City dropped its first away match since February of last year thanks in large part to a blown call that VAR would have identified.
A lasting impression from this year’s World Cup that has been seared into our minds is that of people miming drawing a box. It wasn’t some Pulp Fiction in-joke, rather it was the universal sign that the match we were watching was about to get a lot longer.
It was the sign made to indicate a play was going to Video Assisted Replay, VAR.
As the World Cup went on, and VAR dragged out certain matches much longer than they had to go, the whole thing became a bit of a joke. But few were laughing on Saturday afternoon when a controversial goal tilted a Premier League match that cost Manchester City two points.
Early on in Man City’s match against Wolverhampton, Willy Boly scored on a corner kick that appeared be handball. Replays splashed on televisions all over the world indicated as much, but because the Premier League has resisted implementing VAR, there was no review and the goal stood despite the fact it shouldn’t have.
Wolves take the lead against Manchester City thanks to an astonishing diving header from Willy Boly. pic.twitter.com/1lb6sl9A18
— Jonny Sharples (@JonnyGabriel) August 25, 2018
That, obviously, is a problem.
As soon as the goal happened, the conversation about video replay in the Premier League was reignited. There still seems to be a very fine battle line drawn between those who want to see VAR and those who think it’s the work of the devil.
That was clearly handball & another incident to support the introduction of VAR in #PL #WOLMCI
— Rocky Gill (@_RockyGill) August 25, 2018
Handball goal from Wolves. VAR would have sorted it.
— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) August 25, 2018
The decision to not bring VAR into the PL this season is ridiculous...the game needs it...
Watching again it does hit Boly's forearm, however his entire arm is downwards as he goes in for a diving header, the ball skims his face/chin and bounces off his arm. There's no deliberate attempt to use the hand whatsoever.
— Dean Batchelor (@RealDeanB) August 25, 2018
That last point is one that people staunchly opposed to VAR coming to the Premier League are clinging to, and they might not be wrong. The concept of replay and the traditionalist conversation around it seems a lot like the hubbub we all had about replays in baseball. There’s a charm to the element of human error, except in moments like this. The difference is, baseball eventually got with the times and instituted video replay, despite how it altered a game that is romanticized for its tradition.
Ultimately, this is a big deal because of the quality of club it involved. The kerfuffle, along with a weaker-than-expected performance, cost the reigning Premier League champions two huge points on the road. The draw ended Man City’s streak of away wins that went back almost two calendar years,