Sunderland given fresh VAR verdict Chris Wilder will hate after huge Play-off call
Sunderland came from behind to defeat Sheffield United in the EFL Championship Play-Off Final to end an eight-year absence from the Premier League.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes it was the right decision for VAR to intervene and rule out Harrison Burrows’ goal for Sheffield United vs Sunderland at Wembley.
The Black Cats were trailing 1-0 after Tyrese Campbell had given the Blades an early lead after just 25 minutes and things appeared to be going from bad to worse. Chris Wilder’s men thought they had gone two goals to the good less than ten minutes later beneath the famous arch.
A Sheffield United corner was only cleared as far as Burrows on the edge of the 18-yard-box and his first time shot was rifled into the bottom corner beyond Anthony Patterson through a crowd of bodies.
However, VAR intervened and deemed Blades’ midfielder Vinicius Souza was offside and impacting Patterson’s line of sight for the goal. Referee Chris Kavanagh was sent to the monitor and overturned his decision.
Sunderland would fight back in the second half and goals from Eliezer Mayenda and Tommy Watson completed a dramatic late comeback to book their place in the Premier League next season.
Speaking after the game, Wilder was left frustrated by the decision to use VAR technology in the final, having not used it all season.
In his post-match press conference, the Blades manager said: “We play 46 games, two play-off matches and all of a sudden it’s a subjective decision by the referee. I don’t think the goalkeeper saves it, I don’t think he gets anywhere near it. I thought it gave them a lifeline with some real energy.”
However, Gallagher disagreed and felt it was the right decision to disallow the goal.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, Gallagher said: “Yeah I think it’s a really good intervention, because if you look at it he’s not actually in the goalkeeper’s line of vision but, what he does, instead of peeling away, he almost peels into the goalkeeper.
“From the angle behind the goal he moves left to right, he moves a): in front of the goalkeeper there and b): he’s within touching distance so he’s impacting the goalkeeper.”
