Thread by @DaleJohnsonESPN

It's Monday VAR thread time.

This week, I'll go through why the handball is where it is, and the repercussions with VAR.

I'll also compare the Aubameyang/Robertson tackles, plus run through the process that led to Theo Walcott not getting a penalty.

There seems to be a common misconception that any time a law is now changed, it's changed for VAR. In truth, the examples of this are few.

One such case is the offside law, with a clause inserted to specify that "point of contact with the pass" is when offside is judged.

For the most part, laws are simply changed as part of the annual process of tweaking and shifting the laws.

In the case of the handball law, it was changed as part of a complete "tidy up" of what many did believe was unclear as a law. Here's the reasoning from The IFAB.

Rather than the handball law being tweaked to fit in with VAR, what we are finding is the exact opposite: VAR is largel incompatible with the new law.

Despite the explanation from the IFAB, most fans do NOT expect goals to be disallowed in most of the situations we've seen.

It all goes back to this handball "goal" by Neymar in the 2015 Champions League final.

It was disallowed for handball, when actually by the LOTG it shouldn't have been.

So the IFAB changed the law to make it illegal...

A famous example, of course, came in the UCL game between Spurs and Man City.

Many believed this goal should have been ruled out.

In fact, by the LOTG last season, it was perfectly legitimate and ref Cuneyt Cakir was right to allow it after review.

So we're in a position where any attacking handball that leads to a goal is an offence.

It doesn't matter what Declan Rice, David Moyes or any pundits think. It HAS to be penalised.

Intent is irrelevant, and this section of the PL website refers ONLY to defensive handball.

It is such a bad law, which is missing distinct interpretations for where attacking handball can begin.

It is another tool for VAR can take goals away - 7 in the PL (with another 2 the VAR missed).

It's a problem in EVERY league, causing anger across Europe's top leagues.

It won't be such a problem in leagues without VAR, because they do not have the same forensic analysis of every goal.

I'm sure there have been similar handballs to Declan Rice's in the Football League each weekend, but the officials do not see them.

Onto Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Andrew Robertson's challenges.

From these camera stills, you'd think they are both similarly bad. And that's why it's often very misleading to only use still images.

The force and intensity of a challenge is as important as how reckless it may be.

Aubameyang is without doubt serious foul play.

But with Robertson, there's little force which goes into the contact with Tangana. It's no surprise that all ex-players and pundits say no red.

On the Walcott incident, which I think most fans agree should have been a penalty. It should have been a red card too for Lewis Dunk, as triple jeopardy rule doesn't apply when a player is pulled back.

No doubt that Dunk impeded Walcott. So why no VAR pen?

Because the Premier League is refusing to use pitchside monitors, this is the protocol.

VAR will indicate a review for a possible penalty, and it will then be down to referee David Coote (who ironically has given more pens as a VAR than anyone else) to describe the incident.

If the referee gives what appears to be a genuine description of the incident, as seen by the VAR, there will be no overturn.

So if David Coote said he saw Dunk's arm on Walcott's shoulder but he did not think it was sufficient contact for a foul, then VAR will not give a pen.

We are back to VAR 1.0 here, whereby the VAR is essentially second-guessing the match referee.

The VAR is having to interpret what the referee thinks he has seen, and basically substitute in yet another level of subjectivity.

In these examples the ref HAS to use the monitor.

As I said last week, the example of Michael Oliver using the monitor at Palace to show a red card to Luka Milivojevic was in line with Premier League VAR protocol and was not a watershed moment.

And contrary to what you might read, the PL is not going against IFAB protocol.

IFAB protocol does not insist on pitchside reviews for subjective decisions.

It only provides it as an option.

So while the Prem may be doing this differently to most leagues, it's not against protocol.

I would not be surprised if the IFAB tightens this for next season.

That wraps it up for this week (I think).

I spent 10 minutes discussing the VAR situation, and the problems the whole of football has, on Talksport last night.

You can listen to that discussion here, from 10 minutes in. talksport.com/radio/listen-a…

VAR STATS

Total overturns: 68
Goals: 17
Disallowed goals: 37
Pens: 10 (4 missed)
Pens overturned: 3 (1 for offside)
Pen retakes: 4 (1 from scored, 3 from missed)
Offside: 25
Awarded after incorrect offside: 7
Handball: 7
Awarded after wrong handball: 1
Reds: 4
Overturned reds: 2

VAR STATS (cont)

Most for: Brighton 8
Fewest for: Villa, Newcastle, Norwich, Wolves 1
Most against: Sheff Utd, West Ham 7
Fewest against: Newcastle 0
Most net for: Brighton 6
Most net against: Norwich, Sheffield United, Wolves 5
Most involvement: West Ham 11
Least: Newcastle 1

VAR STATS (cont)

Most goals awarded: Crystal Palace 3
Most disallowed goals for: Sheffield United 5
Most goals to opposition: West Ham 3
Most disallowed for opposition: Brighton, Southampton 6

espn.co.uk/football/engli…

Some VAR ref stats:

Most subj. overturns by the VAR as ref: Anthony Taylor (4)
Most pens awarded as a VAR: David Coote (3)
Most encroachment enforcement: David Coote (2 of 4)
Most interventions as a VAR: David Coote (8)
Most handball disallows: Jonathan Moss, Michael Oliver (2)