Gary Neville has defended the standards of refereeing in the Premier League but admits VAR has had a 'very bad weekend'. The Sky Sports pundit was asked about the application of technology in the top-flight following a succession of controversial calls including the decision to rule out a goal for Newcastle United.
The Magpies took the lead against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, only for Tyrick Mitchell's own-goal to be ruled out following a VAR review. Joe Willock appeared to be pushed before colliding with Vincente Guiata, but referee Michael Salisbury overturned his on-field call after being asked to consult the pitchside monitor.
It is the latest in a succession of controversial VAR and referee decisions which have frustrated Newcastle in their opening six matches of the season. Aston Villa and West Ham were both also subject to contentious calls in the latest round of fixtures, with David Moyes describing the decision to chalk off Maxwel Cornet's equaliser against Chelsea as 'scandalous'.
READ MORE: Amanda Staveley admits 'sleepless night' as she delivers VAR verdict on disallowed Newcastle goal
Neville was asked about the latest debate surrounding VAR after Manchester United's victory over Arsenal, where Gabriel Martinelli saw an opening goal ruled out following a review. The former full-back has praised the standards of on-field officials, but insists the application of VAR has to improve.
The pundit told the Gary Neville Podcast: "There's this feeling that at Sky, we are pro VAR. We're never told to comment on VAR either negatively or positively.
"I've listened to people for 10 years pre VAR where balls have gone over the line - although goal-line technology came in - and there's been massive calls made that cause relegations, promotions, Champions League places to be lost. Penalties not being given, offsides, all those sorts of things.
"I've witnessed people for years say technology should be introduced into football, then we had that first year where I thought there was a little bit of arrogance to be fair from the PGMOL on how they used it. They hadn't used the workings and experience that had been gathered in Europe and in competitions.
"Last year, I thought we had settled down. People accepted there were teething problems with VAR in that first year, they'd got over it and they were using it better. I think generally the on-field refereeing is very, very good.
"Why would I say that by the way? I've complained about referees for years, I don't need to say that. The speed of that game we're watching, we see that one today with [Christian] Eriksen and [Martin] Odegaard, we had to watch that two or three times. They're watching that in real time, so the idea they should get every decision right on the pitch...they get a lot right.
"The standard of refereeing is really good, that's the first thing to say. However, VAR has had a very, very, very bad weekend. A very bad weekend, and it's brought it back into the fore.
"The people who are against it and think it destroys the ethos of the game, they now obviously have something to go on again. It won't go away, it is not going anywhere. What they'll have to do is get better at it."
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