Aston Villa were penalised on Boxing Day when striker Jhon Duran was sent off against Newcastle after VAR intervened – but head coach Unai Emery says he is in favour of the technology if used correctly
Aston Villa were penalised on Boxing Day when striker Jhon Duran was sent off against Newcastle after VAR intervened – but head coach Unai Emery says he is in favour of the technology if used correctly Aston Villa were penalised on Boxing Day when striker Jhon Duran was sent off against Newcastle after VAR intervened – but head coach Unai Emery says he is in favour of the technology if used correctly
Unai Emery has called for VAR to be used MORE.
Aston Villa’s boss used his programme notes ahead of Monday night’s game against Brighton to outline his feelings. With striker Jhon Duran ruled out for violent conduct for the first of his three-match ban following his controversial dismissal at St James’s Park, the Spaniard outlined his unhappiness with the current use of technology.
Emery was upset that the referee on Tyneside, Anthony Taylor, didn’t consult his pitchside monitor before showing the red card to the Colombian international. He said: “I want to write about some incidents that have happened over the last weeks. I decided to write these lines with the spirit of constructive reflection.
“I don’t fake any disagreement if I don’t feel really an injustice. It is not on my agenda. Referees are under high pressure with an extremely difficult task. I respect every referee as a professional but even more as a human being.
“Nothing disappoints me more when I read stories about incidents or harassment of young referees in lower levels of the game. But I want to make public my disagreement with some of the last few decisions we received recently.
“Not because they were against us or not in our favour. It is just because of the process in the decision-making. In our opinion, the referees are not using enough and correctly the VAR.
“The VAR came to help us avoid injustice or mistakes, and if we use it to protect a certain way of understanding the refereeing of football or just to protect whatever it takes for the on-field decisions to be delivered – right or wrong – by the referee.
“If we start to use VAR in a political way we are forgetting that the video tool is here to protect mainly the game and the fairness of the competition. VAR is not a tool to protect or be under any ego, system or individual.
“VAR cannot be used to break the spirit of the game but if it is existing and available, VAR neither must be underused on purpose and let big mistakes happen without using all the tools correctly.
“We must have hope that this situation will be corrected and finally we find some balance. I am against any lack of respect for referees. They are an important part of the game we love and with the hardest task.”
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