Parker on VAR and Utd loss

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Parker on VAR and Utd loss  30/08/2025  Old Trafford, Manchester, UK

Transcript

00:00Are you proud about Strix as well and how it came in?

00:02Yeah, I think mixed emotions really.

00:04I think immensely proud of the group, immensely proud of the players, the fans, football club in general to be fair.

00:11Coming to a real tough place and I thought our second half performance was nothing short of incredible,

00:18showed absolutely humongous character after a really really tough start.

00:22Certainly the first half, it was tough against a really really good side

00:26and we had Martin to thank probably just getting in at half time at one second half.

00:32I thought like you said, we was top really.

00:36And then the other emotion that you have is you know, you're gutted.

00:39I'm gutted for the fans, I'm gutted for the players and the group really because the game gets decided on a last minute VAR call

00:48that obviously makes us not gain the point that I felt that we deserve really.

00:52What were you feeling about on that call?

00:56I don't know, I think it's a tough, I always felt that, or my understanding of it is obviously on-field decision.

01:05It needs to then be clear and obvious.

01:07I think Diallo's played for it really well, don't get me wrong, the pool was there and that happened before it.

01:13I felt that Jaden got a tug early from Diallo that then gives him a yard to get in front of him

01:19and Jaden does clearly pull his shirt.

01:22But obviously it then goes to the ref don't give it, the linesman don't give it, he's 10 metres away.

01:28The guy 100 miles away, Nirvana's decided that it's a clear and obvious error from the ref

01:34and then obviously it's a penalty.

01:37But that's the way the game is going that way, I said it downstairs, it's going to become the most sterile game there is really.

01:52I think you're only probably, we're probably months or a year away from not celebrating goals.

01:59I stand on the touchline, you score a goal and I feel like there's a million things that go through your mind.

02:05Checklists, what happened three minutes before it, was that offside?

02:09Did he stand on his toe two minutes before we've gone for on-goal?

02:13Is it offside? We need to get the computer out by the millimetre to check whether it is offside.

02:19Linesmen and referees really are slowly becoming redundant

02:24and the game's become, yeah, it's being reffed and every phase.

02:31I think we live in a world of perfection, don't we?

02:34Everyone wants perfection and social media brings that.

02:37I think we want perfection in a game of football which I just don't agree with but it is what is.

02:44Yeah, I'm absolutely frustrated now that when you do look back a bit, a lot of positive take from you.

02:48Massive positives, yeah, massive positives.

02:50First half, first half's positives as well to be fair because we really, really struggled and I could see that.

02:58Second half, like I said, I'm gutted for the group.

03:02I'm immensely proud.

03:03The character that we showed to come here, to get back into the game, to then go behind in the way we went behind as well.

03:10That could have been a hammer blow for us.

03:12It wasn't literally practically the next phase from the goal kick.

03:16It was boom.

03:17And again, at that moment, that could be a hammer blow for a team.

03:22We then got back into it.

03:24So yeah, look, I thought we were competitive today.

03:27I thought we showed real fight, which we have over the first three games.

03:30What encourages me massively.

03:32Still loads of learning, still loads of improving.

03:34But yeah, I'm encouraged.

03:36Frustrating with the concept of that set piece for the first goal and it caused a lot of issues in the corner?

03:40Yeah, it was frustrating.

03:41Yeah, I thought that was wrong really.

03:44I think that's where the problem was and it was frustrating.

03:47We knew they were a danger on set plays.

03:49A lot of bodies, big targets and it was frustrating.

03:53So yeah, disappointed with that.

03:55I know, yeah.

04:00I mean, he scored last week as well, which was, you could say, I think that was VAR as well.

04:04I think that was someone else who said, I don't know whether the ref give that on the day,

04:07but VAR said it was a foul as well.

04:10And he had a goal there.

04:11He's had two goals today, one obviously, which if it's offside, it's offside,

04:16however small the margins are then.

04:18But really pleased that he got a goal today.

04:21Really pleased.

04:22We're hoping, hoping that maybe we can try and do some business and there's 48 hours left.

04:30So we'll see a lot of things probably need to fall into play,

04:33but we're going to try and be active if we can to improve us more.

04:36Maybe some players leave as well.

04:38So it'll be a busy couple of days to see what, see what happens.

04:42I think as always Matt, at this present moment in time,

04:48there's ideas or there's players that we like, but until then players are actually with us and signed,

04:56I wouldn't want to comment on any player that wasn't with us.

04:59Okay.

05:00Any more?

05:01Yep.

05:02Sorry, one like that.

05:03Hi Scott.

05:04Were you surprised at how little control and stability Manchester United had today?

05:09I thought they had a lot of control and stability in the first half, to be honest with you.

05:12I thought they looked, looked a very, very good team.

05:15I get the narrative around United at the moment.

05:17And people want to spin whatever narrative they want.

05:20And it's United this week, it'll be United next, someone else the following week.

05:24We've come to a, that first half performance from Man United was every bit of a top team.

05:28They, they were, you know, partly down to us maybe in certain times, but they've got some exceptional players.

05:35Um, and we ground it, we ground ourselves and dug in deep, um, and got ourselves back in the game really.

05:41Um, but yeah, that's where I see the reflection on, on, on United today.

05:46Hi Scott.

05:47Um, I just want to return to your comments on VAR.

05:50And it sounds like you were saying that it's kind of ruining the game.

05:53Do you think that the game can become, become less popular because of VAR?

05:57And is there, what, how do other managers feel about it?

06:00I don't, yeah, I don't know how other managers feel.

06:03Look, I, I referenced this four or five years ago when VAR first come in.

06:07And I understand, like I said, I think the, ultimately what it comes down to is the world we're in.

06:12And the world we're in is perfection, whether it's a filter on your phone to make you look a little bit better.

06:16Or whatever it is, is that's what everyone wants in life.

06:20They want perfection.

06:21And we want the game to be this perfect game.

06:24This game, I've been in the arena, is going at a serious pace.

06:29It's a contact sport and there's decisions that you have to make at milli, milli seconds.

06:33Milli seconds.

06:34But now we can break it down, we can slow it down.

06:37He stood on his toe at that moment.

06:39So we'll go, it's just, that's the way the game's going.

06:42It's, it's becoming even more theatrical at times.

06:45You know, the refs are coming onto the pitch now.

06:47And having, having their say and letting everyone know why their decisions were made, why they're not.

06:52The game's become a very stop start in certain moments.

06:55And like I said, the emotion of the game is probably getting, coming out of it.

06:58Because you just don't know at any moment what could have happened.

07:03So, well, what can happen?

07:04Is it coming a bit like the NFL?

07:06Yeah.

07:07Yeah, it probably is.

07:08Yeah.

07:09But NFL is a set play game.

07:11That's where it's different.

07:12Football is a 90 minute flow of a game.

07:15NFL is one play and then you have three minutes to discuss the next play.

07:21It's broken down.

07:22Football is continuous.

07:24Football has a flow to it.

07:25And fans have a flow and you can see things and you make decisions or the ref makes decisions

07:30or whatever it is.

07:31So, um, that's obviously changing.

07:34Um, and yeah, that's the way, that's the way it is now.

07:38Okay.

07:40Thanks, guys.

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