Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle: An advert for VAR? How many big decisions were wrong in FA Cup tie?

Has there ever been a better advert for the video assistant referee?

Newcastle’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round win at Aston Villa was full of controversy with the video assistant referee (VAR) once again the big talking point – even though it wasn’t even in use.

For this season and the previous FA Cup campaign, it has not been used until the fifth round, with many fans looking forward to a return to football without interruptions from technology.

But referee Chris Kavanagh will have been wishing he had VAR to fall back on at Villa Park after an offside opener for the hosts, a blatant penalty for the visitors not awarded, plus at least three other controversial decisions that could have affected the outcome.

Ultimately, Newcastle – who were on the wrong end of the majority of the calls – progressed into the last 16, but manager Eddie Howe couldn’t hide his disappointment with the officials.

Tammy Abraham’s opener for Villa was offside, Lucas Digne’s second-half handball should have been given as a penalty rather than a free-kick outside the box, while the French full-back was also fortunate to escape a red card for a reckless challenge on Jacob Murphy.

Howe said: «I’m so torn because the game is better without VAR in terms of excitement and the spectacle for the supporters and us when we’re living a moment live.

«But it does give accurate results. It does make the game more precise in terms of decision-making. You have to respect those moments. They’re worth their weight in gold.

«When VAR is there, there is a tendency to think, ‘oh well I won’t give that because VAR is there to check it’. Then your decision-making isn’t as sharp as it would normally have to be. Maybe there is a difference there.

«I’m always torn on VAR because I love the raw emotion when a goal goes in and you don’t see a flag or hear a whistle and you know the goal is going to stand and nobody can take it away from you. But, on the other side of that, I was wishing there was VAR for the goal they scored against us – and probably throughout the entire game.»

Villa, themselves, will be reflecting on a straight red card for goalkeeper Marco Bizot in first-half added time when they were leading 1-0, and could argue Dan Burn was offside for the visitors’ equaliser through Sandro Tonali.

Boss Unai Emery, added: «Today it makes sense understanding that VAR is necessary. It’s necessary to help the referees.»

After a season so far, which has seen VAR the talking point on a weekly basis, has a weekend without it shown the potential problems?

Ex-England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day: «For five or six months, they have been relying on VAR and they come into this situation and it all changes.

«In their defence, which is hard for me, they have VAR for five to six months, then come into a huge game without it, so it is difficult for them.

«I would like the officials to do their job properly. It is not too much to ask, is it.

«If you ever needed any evidence of the damage that VAR has done to referees, I think today is a great example of that. These guys look petrified to make a decision today because they didn’t have a comfort blanket.»

After watching the replays, Abraham’s goal should clearly have been ruled out for offside, but it was the Digne non-penalty decision that really left most speechless.

The Villa full-back was at least a yard inside the penalty area when he was penalised for a handball, but incredibly Kavanagh awarded a free-kick – from which Tonali eventually scored the 63rd-minute equaliser.

Former England striker Wayne Rooney told Match of the Day Live: «That decision is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in football because at no stage was Digne out of the penalty box.

«He is three or four yards inside. The linesman is just in front of it and you can clearly see how much he is in the penalty box.

«The referee looked like he blew and looked like he was listening to someone in his ear, so I’m assuming the linesman gave the decision, and it’s absolute shocker.»

And former Newcastle forward Shearer added: «There is perhaps a small excuse for the referee to not see this, but I am being kind to him.

«But there is no excuse whatsoever for the assistant, who is 10-15 yards away, Nick Greenhalgh, who had a nightmare today.

«I don’t think that is a difficult decision at all. In fact, it is easy. At this standard, that has to be given. There is no excuse for the assistant to not tell the referee that he has got that totally wrong.»

Tammy Abraham’s opener

A marginal VAR offside decision caused a fair amount of controversy for Newcastle in midweek. Joe Willock had a goal disallowed at Tottenham when the semi-automated technology said his forehead was offside.

Abraham’s goal was the kind of decision the video review was brought in for – the real howlers.

The Villa striker was clearly ahead of the defence when Douglas Luiz played the free-kick. With VAR, the goal would have been ruled out.

It would be easy to blame switching between systems as a defence for the assistant, Nick Greenhalgh. But with or without VAR, he would be expected to raise his flag if he’s identified an offside.

Should Digne have been sent off?

Would the VAR have stepped in to show a red card to Digne for serious foul play with his late challenge on Jacob Murphy? It is far from certain from what we have seen in the Premier League.

We often hear the VAR has referenced glancing contact to uphold the decison of a yellow card. See Diogo Dalot’s challenge on Jeremy Doku in the Manchester derby last month.

Digne did come in at some speed and that would have increased the chance of being sent off on review.

Yet the Frenchman did not push through on to the shin of the Newcastle player. That his foot came off quickly probably would have saved him.

It may well have been one of those where the on-field decision would have stood, whether it was yellow or red card.

Bizot’s red card

Serious foul play or denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity (Dogso)?

Really, this incident could have been either. After all, Bizot brought down Murphy with a knee-high challenge – although it was not with studs leading.

When the Dutch goalkeeper fouled the Newcastle forward, the Magpies were left with three attackers up against only Luiz, although Dogso could only be applied to the player fouled.

The VAR would have taken into account the general run of the ball was not towards goal. They would also consider if Luiz would have been able to get across to prevent the shot.

You can make a case for a degree of doubt for Dogso. But much like the Digne decision it is one which would likely have stayed with the on-field decision.

Did Digne handle in the penalty area?

It is hard to understand just how referee Chris Kavanagh and his assistant managed to give a free-kick.

At no point was Digne outside the penalty area.

Not before Kieran Trippier played the cross or at the moment the Villa player raised his arms and committed the handball. Even after the offence he continued walking in the box.

The VAR would have needed seconds to correct the free-kick to a penalty.

Was Burn offside for equaliser?

From the resulting free-kick Newcastle did score anyway through Tonali, but with VAR in use, it could have been disallowed.

When Trippier floated in the free-kick, defender Burn ran across the front of the Villa defence. It looked like the England international may well have been marginally offside.

While Burn did not touch the ball, he both pushed down on Abraham and jumped in front of substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

It would have been close but if the semi-automated technology found the Newcastle player was offside, the goal would have been ruled out.