Anthony Martial penalty decision branded ‘worst use of VAR in the history of the Premier League’ by talkSPORT host as Danny Mills slams ‘disgraceful’ call

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Manchester United beat Southampton 9-0 on Tuesday night in a match which saw ‘the worst use of VAR in the history of the Premier League’.

Having seen full debutant Alexandre Jankewitz sent off within two minutes of kick-off for a terrible challenge on Scott McTominay, it was always going to be a tough evening for Saints.

It was a woeful night for Southampton at Old Trafford

They were 4-0 down at half-time, with a further five goals coming after the break as the Red Devils became the second team to score nine against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton after Leicester in October 2019.

The eighth goal, scored by Bruno Fernandes from the penalty spot, was particularly controversial after Saints had already seen a Che Adams goal ruled out for the tightest of offsides after a VAR review.

Anthony Martial went down in the box under pressure from Jan Bednarek and referee Mike Dean awarded a penalty, with the resultant VAR review taking ages.

Onlookers largely agreed Martial had gone down without being touched by Bednarek, only for Dean to be told to consult the pitchside monitor and then stick by his penalty decision – AND send off Bednarek!

Replays appeared to show Martial was NOT fouled… but the penalty was still given

The game was over by this point, but there was real fury at the penalty decision and the latest terrible use of VAR.

And talkSPORT’s very own Hugh Woozencroft could not believe what he was seeing as he hosted Kick Off alongside former England international Danny Mills.

“That is probably the worst use of VAR in the history of the Premier League since it’s come in,” said Woozencroft.

Mills added: “This is a shambles, an absolute disgrace. I don’t believe it!

Liverpool’s Andy Robertson airs frustrations with VAR and says football is ‘crying out for consistency’ that it hasn’t been getting for a long time

“That has to be overturned, it’s an appalling decision. It’s not a penalty, it’s not a red card; it’s a dive as he’s already going down.

“I don’t think anybody in football would disagree with it being an absolutely shocking decision.

“VAR and the officials have messed it up big time.”

Mills suggested a possible solution for the issues with VAR – expressing his belief that a replay should only be watched a maximum of three times before a final decision must be made by the officials.

Mike Dean consulted the pitchside monitor and stuck by his decision

“This is getting ridiculous,” he added. “They’ve looked at it 20 times and then told the referee to go to the monitor.

“If they are not sure and want the ref to make the decision, they should look at it once and say, ‘go to the monitor’.

“This is where I think VAR has got to get a grip, and there has got to be a maximum of THREE replays. Because if not you start looking at it over and over again, and if you are looking for something, you will find something.”

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