Jack Grealish calls to 'get rid' of VAR after Aston Villa denied late equaliser in PL game

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has launched another attack on VAR after the club was controversially denied a late equaliser during their Premier League loss to West Ham. Aston Villa lost 1-2 away to West Ham, with goals from Angelo Ogbonna and Jarrod Bowen guiding the home side to victory. After the game, the Aston Villa player and coach Dean Smith became the latest ones to criticise the Premier League VAR rules when it comes to offside calls.

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Ollie Watkins goal ruled out for offside by Premier League VAR

The incident in question occurred in the stoppage time of the Aston Villa vs West Ham game after striker Ollie Watkins had found the back of the net to level the scores. The striker got onto the end of a Matt Target ball, side-footing the ball past Lukasz Fabianski to score what would have been Aston Villa’s second goal of the night. However, as the striker took the ball and placed it at the centre circle, it was revealed that the Ollie Watkins goal was been investigated for a possible offside infringement.

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With the goal under review, the controversial Premier League VAR rules once again came into play. After deliberation, it was ruled that Ollie Watkins was offside by what proved to be his upper arm, with his armpit adjudged to have strayed into an offside position. Following the decision, fans and pundits criticised the offside call, with many claiming that the decision was incorrect.

Grealish on VAR: Star midfielder slams late offside call in Aston Villa vs West Ham game

Just like many members of the football fraternity, Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish launched a scathing criticism of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) on Twitter. Taking to social media, Jack Grealish claimed that VAR was ruining the game. Talking about the Ollie Watkins goal, the English midfielder suggested that the Premier League VAR calls were getting borderline embarrassing with some of the decisions. 

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The 25-year-old expressed his discontent on Instagram as well, taking to Instagram Stories to say that VAR should be done away with. This is not the first time Jack Grealish has spoken about his unhappiness with the technology. The midfielder had done something similar after Aston Villa were denied a late penalty during last week’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion following a VAR review. 

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Joining Jack Grealish was Aston Villa coach Dean Smith, who while speaking to Sky Sports admitted that he didn’t agree with the offside call. The coach pointed out how Ollie Watkins was offside by a body part which can't be used to score a goal, conceding that he didn’t understand the decision. While concluding, Smith explained that the only reason Ollie Watkins’ arm was ahead was because he was being fouled by the Aston Villa defender.

Image Credits: Aston Villa Instagram