Richard Keys points the finger at Arsenal as he slams Virgil van Dijk VAR call
Richard Keys believes Arsenal have been frequently getting away with the kind of foul that saw Virgil van Dijk’s goal ruled out in the Carabao Cup final.
Van Dijk headed in a deep free-kick to put Liverpool 1-0 up during normal time at Wembley, only to see the goal ruled out following a VAR check. Referee Chris Kavanagh disallowed the goal after VAR spotted that Wataru Endo had been offside when the ball came in before blocking the run of Chelsea defender Levi Colwill.
The decision proved controversial, with many believing those sorts of tactics are employed effectively, without punishment, by many teams. Former Sky Sports presenter Keys was among those enraged by VAR’s intervention and specifically called out Mikel Arteta ’s side for exploiting the “grey area”.
“Madness. Absolute madness. Football has grey areas. It always has. And I’ve got news for the guys trying to turn it black and white – you can’t. You will kill it in the process,” Keys wrote in his blog.
“I’ve never felt as flat as I did this weekend when the mood spoilers and nit pickers ruled out Van Dijk’s first goal for Liverpool. Why are the operators of VAR always looking for ways to disallow goals? Their first instinct should be to find ways to give them - it’s what we pay to see. Goals.
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“There was nothing wrong with Van Dijk’s first header. It was a cup final for f**** sake – not a PGMOL training session. You do not – you can not – disallow a goal in a game of that magnitude for the offence that John Brooks spotted. Ok – by the letter of the law [Wataru] Endo made himself active by blocking [Levi] Colwill after starting that phase of play offside. That’s exactly what Andy [Gray] said on beINSPORTS as we watched the game. But come on – common sense should’ve prevailed. Touch guys. Feel. Please.
“We see that happen every week – game in game out. We see worse from every set-piece Arsenal take. Watch Ben White the next time they have a corner. It’s part of the game. It’s a ‘grey area’. Football has lots of them. It’s not perfect. We don’t want it to be perfect.”
Chris Kavanagh disallowed Virgil van Dijk's goal after a VAR review (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! What did you make of the VAR decision? Comment below.
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg was not a fan of the decision. "Did that block from Wataru Endo on Levi Colwill mean that a red carpet was rolled out in order for Virgil van Dijk to score? No, it didn’t," Clattenburg wrote for the Daily Mail.
"Van Dijk was being tracked by Ben Chilwell, who lost the aerial duel as Liverpool took the lead. Hardly anyone in a Chelsea shirt even considered complaining to the referee because the block by Endo on Colwill was completely normal,” he added. "It happens dozens of times a game and most Premier League clubs hire set-piece specialist coaches who come up with these clever routines.”
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