Brentford head coach Keith Andrews just came out swinging, saying that the video assistant referee, VAR, is flat-out stopping officials from making decisions on the pitch. It’s a strong take from a coach whose team is sitting seventh in the Premier League, unbeaten with one win and three draws early in the season. Andrews is clearly fed up, arguing we need to “let them ref the game and be human beings and make decisions.”
EFL Cup Win Tarnished By “Top Three Wrong Decisions”
Andrews’ frustrations boiled over even as his Bees progressed to the Carabao Cup fourth round with a battling 2-1 win over League One side Reading. He was not happy with the officiating, specifically pointing to a moment when Reading defender Paudie O’Connor had a first-half overhead kick goal ruled out for a high boot by referee Tom Nield. Reading boss Leam Richardson called that decision “possibly in the top three [wrong] decisions” he’s seen in thousands of games. The kicker? There was no VAR used at this stage of the EFL Cup, making Andrews’ broader point about human judgment even more poignant. He feels that because of technology, officials “weren’t actually making decisions in both boxes,” and that’s a “real shame.”
The Haaland Goal Controversy and What It Means for the Game
But Andrews’ concerns aren’t just about one match. His comments followed Pro Ref’s admission of an “error of judgement” in awarding Erling Haaland’s winning goal for Manchester City in their Premier League clash with Manchester United. Remember that whole debate about Enzo Fernandez being in an offside position, interfering with play before Haaland’s finish? Andrews called it “pretty alarming” that the goal stood. “The first thing was whether [Erling] Haaland was offside and then obviously [Enzo] Fernandez was. It’s a shame,” he admitted. He believes we’ve gone from a time when players had a respectful relationship with officials to a period where referees aren’t “allowed to make mistakes.” Andrews summed it up perfectly: “We’ve gone away from allowing them to officiate and allowing them to make mistakes and I think it is a real shame.”
So what’s next? Andrews’ Brentford side is flying high, but his words hit at the core of officiating in the modern game. If the refs can’t be human, what kind of football are we watching? We’ll see how this debate shapes up as the season rolls on.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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