Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche voiced frustration after another disputed corner led to a goal against his team. Casemiro’s strike for Manchester United marked the second straight week Forest conceded from what appeared to be an incorrect corner decision. VAR could not intervene because it does not cover corner awards.
Assistant referee Akil Howson flagged the ball out despite Nicolo Savona insisting he kept it in play. Six days earlier, Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier scored directly from a wrongly awarded corner that should have been a goal kick.
“Two in two weeks is farcical,” Dyche said. “Someone must have the power to overrule these decisions. It’s unacceptable.” Dyche previously argued that VAR “can’t referee every moment,” but this time his patience ran thin.
Why Corners Remain Outside VAR’s Reach
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) discussed adding corners to VAR’s remit last week but rejected the proposal. FIFA supported including them, calling corner decisions factual rather than subjective. However, many officials feared that reviewing every corner would slow the game further.
Ifab’s panels, made up of former players, referees, and coaches, disagreed on the idea. They cited Law Five, which prevents referees from changing restart decisions after play resumes. To apply VAR to corners, officials would need to check every restart before the kick, averaging about ten per match. Dyche claimed such checks would take only five seconds, but VAR’s record suggests otherwise.
Ifab instead recommended allowing reviews for second yellow cards but kept other boundaries unchanged. Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham supported the decision. “We don’t think VAR needs expansion,” he said. “It’s working well enough now.”
Debate Over VAR’s Limits Continues
Pundit Alan Shearer sympathized with Dyche’s anger but opposed extending VAR to corners. “I understand his frustration,” Shearer said. “But VAR already interrupts too often. Officials just need to make better on-field calls.”
Critics argue that excluding obvious corner errors undermines VAR’s purpose of correcting key mistakes leading to goals. Yet expanding its scope raises fears of endless reviews for throw-ins and free-kicks. Officials agreed that any future change needs deeper discussion before implementation.
Even if VAR had reviewed Casemiro’s goal, the outcome might not have changed. The available footage didn’t conclusively show whether the ball crossed the line. Arsenal faced a similar issue two years ago when unclear goal-line angles cost them a decision at Newcastle.
Meanwhile, VAR controversy extended beyond Forest. Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi escaped two red cards the KMI Panel later ruled as errors. West Ham also endured a lengthy delay against Newcastle when a penalty was overturned after more than four minutes of review—though the added stoppage time eventually allowed them to score.
Across the league, the debate over VAR’s effectiveness and limits shows no sign of ending, leaving managers like Dyche fuming and fans still waiting for consistency.
