Liverpool flop goes on furious rampage and throws VAR monitor on ground

04 November 2023 , 23:05

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Liverpool flop goes on furious rampage and throws VAR monitor on ground

Liverpool flop Iago Aspas threw a VAR monitor to the ground as he went on a furious rampage during Celta Vigo's draw with Sevilla.

The striker had started the clash at the Abanca-Balaidos on Saturday evening before being subbed off with 20 minutes to go. At that point, Celta were on course for what would have been a vital win, but Youssef En-Nesyri came off the bench to equalise with six minutes to go.

The hosts thought they would have a last-gasp chance to claim all three points deep into injury time when referee Alejandro Hernandez awarded them a penalty for an apparent foul by Jesus Navas on Anastasios Douvikas.

But after a VAR check, Hernandez overturned his decision, sparking fury among the home crowd and their players. Aspas, by this point watching on from the bench could not contain his anger.

He had been standing on the sidelines and when the decision was announced, turned to the ground and threw up his hands. Aspas then stormed towards the area where the VAR monitor is kept.

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The striker grabbed it with both hands and threw it to the ground before being led away by a member of Celta's coaching staff. Following the game, he was still furious when questioned about his outburst.

"The balance always falls on the same side. And today when it could have favoured us, he goes to the VAR to see it when all of Spain has seen it," Aspas fumed to DAZN Sport.

"We have been through twelve days and in seven games the balance always falls the other way. We want to be the best league in the world and we are not advancing like this."

Celta are now third bottom of the La Liga table having endured an awful start to the season. And boss Rafa Benitez, also formerly of Liverpool, echoed his captain's thoughts about Hernandez's performance.

“I'm not the one who has to say if there is a black hand or not, but for another week we are surprised by the referee's performance. I have not even spoken with the referee, I have seen the replay and it has come to me to see what all of Spain has seen," Benitez said.

“Force equals mass times acceleration. Force is measured in newtons. How much is enough to knock a person down? 10 newtons? 12 newtons? In case anyone has any ideas and you talk to a physicist, we put it in the VAR room.

"We have one more person working to tell us the force we need for a person to fall to the ground. Today with the wind, maybe we have to do some other calculation. The public has the opportunity to speak and they are not penalized, it is the great advantage they have. Unfortunately, we are once again talking about someone who is off the field making decisions."

Jacob Leeks