For the second season running, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur were involved in VAR controversy.
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has hit out at the likes of the PGMOL and claimed that Manchester City's goal should have stood against Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend.
Halsey, who officiated in England's top-flight for a 15-year period, claimed that in 'any game bar the Premier League', Gabriel Jesus' stoppage-time strike 'is a goal'.
The new handball rule introduced this season has caused a massive stir, as by the letter of law the correct decision has been made by VAR, but the law itself has been criticised.
Speaking to TalkSport (18/08/2019 at 3:00 pm), ex-referee Halsey was critical of those in charge of officiating as he made it clear that he doesn't like the new rule.
“Mike Riley in the summer said, 'we got to raise the bar on handballs, we got to raise the bar on goalkeeper movement and encroachment',” Halsey told TalkSport. “Well, then we got to raise the bar on offside, we have got to raise the bar on these situations [City handball].
“For me, the way the law is written now, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. We have got to sit around the table, the PGMOL, the Premier League and all the managers, and look at incidents and what has or hasn't been disallowed.
“I think when we have incidents like the one at the Etihad, we have to give those as a goal – In any game, bar the Premier League, that's a goal. We are going to drive the fans away and if we drive the fans away, we will have empty stadiums.”
It remains to be seen whether this current handball rule will change down the line, and if it doesn't then it will more than likely just cause more problems.
Either way, Spurs won't be fussed because it fell in their favour as they left the Etihad with a point to their name despite producing a poor performance on the night.
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