It was a weekend of drama surrounding the use of VAR in the Premier League yet again. With the combination of poor officiating and some crazy VAR decisions, there has been calls for VAR to be removed, but it was an issue with goal-line technology during Huddersfield's 1-0 defeat to Blackpool which could be the worst of the lot.
After a goalmouth scramble inside the six yard box, Huddersfield's Yuta Nakayama clearly put the ball over the line and wheeled off to celebrate with the home fans. Much to his and his teammates' surprise, the referee waved play on due to no notification coming through on referee John Busby's watch from Hawk-Eye.
BREAKING NEWS 🚨: The EFL confirm the result of yesterday's game between Huddersfield & Blackpool stands despite the failure of goal-line technology that denied Huddersfield an equaliser. pic.twitter.com/nS5RDZPFzl
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 5, 2022
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Earlier today, the EFL released a statement apologising to the Terriers and confirming that the goal line technology did not work properly.
The statement says:
The EFL is incredibly frustrated that a technology failure at Huddersfield Town and Blackpool has overshadowed a fantastic weekend of action on the pitch.
We have now received an initial assessment from Hawk-Eye, the providers of the Goal Line Technology service in the Championship, that during a second-half incident with Huddersfield attacking, the match officials did not receive a signal to their watch or earpiece as, due to multiple factors, the ball was no longer being tracked following it entering the Blackpool goal area.
Separately, PGMOL have confirmed officials were unsighted due to obstruction by players and therefore unable to award a goal.
While the system was tested and functional prior to the start of the game, further information is expected from both Hawk-Eye and PGMOL following a full review of the incident.
Technology is there to support the decision-making processes of match officials in the Championship and it failing in such a manner on Sunday is a matter of great concern.
For clarity, the referee’s decision is final and the match result stands.
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Huddersfield manager left fuming with the error
After the game, Huddersfield Town manager Danny Schofield was left furious with the decision that cost his side the game, saying that "the system got it wrong".
Schofield said:
We’ve seen stills and video replays of the goal that wasn’t given and there is clear light between the ball and the goalpost
I can’t tell you what happened, but the goal should have stood. Regardless, it’s another defeat.
The referee is governed by the goal-line technology to make the decision on that. It appears that system has got it wrong, so we should have at least come away with a point today.
Huddersfield are sitting just second from bottom in the Championship standings with one win from their first seven games.
For a side that came just one game away from a return to the Premier League last season, where they lost to Nottingham Forest in the playoff final, it's been an underwhelming campaign to say the least.
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