00:00Right then, hello everybody, welcome to the Adam Cleary Football Channel and this, this right here, this specific moment and
00:08this, this and this going on around it, it's the biggest call in the history of VAR.
00:13It's probably decided the Premier League title and depending on what club you support, it's either a cast iron open
00:19and shut example of exactly what VAR is really good at doing or it's an almost criminally inconsistent interpretation of
00:28the rules that has stolen one of the greatest moments of the season and also denied us a thrilling final
00:35two games.
00:36So, which is it? Ah, well, since this image and this image and this image and this image are probably
00:44all you're going to be seeing on social media for the rest of this week, we're going to break down
00:49the goal itself and whether or not this and this and this should have had any bearing on it whatsoever.
00:56So welcome, if you will, to explaining the biggest call in VAR history.
01:06Okay, so first up we have this, right? And that's a foul. Yeah, sorry if you thought I was going
01:14to come in here and say what a load of fannies footballers are these days, it's a man's game, etc,
01:20etc.
01:20But you cannot put your arm across the front of a goalkeeper, physically grab his arm, stop him getting off
01:28the ground or even lifting his arms to make a catch and expect to get away with that.
01:33That is, that's just a foul. And don't get me wrong, I agree, goalkeepers get too much protection.
01:38I literally am one. I think it's brilliant. I take the piss with it whenever I possibly can.
01:44But you cannot physically impede them from doing goalkeeping and David Raya can neither get off the ground nor make
01:52what should be an easy catch here.
01:54So, yes, I'm sorry, that is clearly a foul.
01:59Now, do I, an extremely messy bitch who audibly burst out laughing when that goal went in, want it to
02:06be a foul?
02:07Um, no, of course not. Give me schadenfreude or give me death, in my opinion, but still, it is one.
02:15But I think, like most of us, we do agree on that part, right? That is definitely a foul.
02:21That's not what's causing everyone to be very insane on the internet over the last, like, 18 or so hours.
02:28It's when you widen the lens ever so slightly, that is definitely a foul, sure.
02:33But you could also argue that there's a foul by Trossard going on at the same time.
02:38There's a foul by Erdogan going on at the same time, and dear God, what are you doing there, Declan
02:46Rice?
02:46He looks like a parent who is trying to stop his toddler from running into a fireplace, which you probably
02:54can't do.
02:55And I think looking at this as a wider picture is quite interesting, because if your decision is to disallow
02:59the goal for this foul on David Raya here,
03:02I'd say the referee also has the option to disallow the goal but bring it back for a penalty.
03:08If you believe any of these offences are taking place before this one becomes relevant.
03:14And I have seen more than a few people say that that should be the call here.
03:20No goal, but a penalty.
03:22The thing is, just looking at all of this again, right, I am so sorry.
03:27I am so, so sorry for what a tedious answer this is, right?
03:33But that's not it either.
03:34The foul on Raya is the only foul that's actually really relevant to the way play develops.
03:41But don't get me wrong, Trossard and Erdogan are grappling here with Tadibo and Paolo Felipe.
03:47I'd go so far as to say they are fouling them, but the ball lands right on David Raya.
03:54So that is where the focus of the play goes.
03:57It's such a cop-out sort of thing to say, but that is what referees are told to look at
04:02in these situations.
04:03What is happening that is really relevant to the way play develops?
04:07Now, on the other hand, Declan Rice is certainly involved in the way play develops.
04:11You could easily say that he stops Mavropanos from having the freedom to get off the ground and nod this
04:18in after Raya drops it.
04:20Which would not only be a penalty, but probably a red card from him as well.
04:25But the problem with that one is the linear structure of the way we all experience the passage and flow
04:32of time.
04:32Like, this happens, becomes a foul after David Raya is fouled.
04:37So once you've looked at this and decided to stop the play there, that next bit pretty much ceases to
04:43exist.
04:44Which is weird.
04:45And you are probably sitting there right now going, oh, so you're arguing in favour of the decision that was
04:52made, are you, Adam?
04:53And that's because I am doing that.
04:56Yes, I think it was the correct decision, as boring as it was.
05:00But it does also, for me, highlight a fundamental problem with football right now that VAR cannot fix.
05:09Because these are all fouls.
05:13And if they're not made, then maybe these two just outjump David Raya and head it in.
05:19In fact, maybe the defender's hand is only there because he's getting wrestled by another player.
05:26But maybe he's only getting wrestled by another player because said other player is a smaller man and he's dragging
05:32him around with him.
05:34There is no clean way whatsoever to decide definitively who is in the right and who is in the wrong
05:41between all four of these players.
05:44Like, they are all, to varying degrees, fouling another player in the box here.
05:50But because fouls are and always will be entirely subjective personal things, what one referee sees as a threshold being
06:01crossed, another one might not.
06:03And neither of them are necessarily going to be wrong about that.
06:07So, fans, pundits, you and me, we're all in exactly the same position.
06:12You look at any corner being taken in the Premier League and there will be so many different things going
06:18on.
06:18You will not find two people who agree exactly on where the fouls are and where they aren't.
06:25Like, if I was the ref here, god forbid, right, I would look at this and go, yep, that's definitely
06:31a foul on the goalkeeper.
06:32I'm going to disallow that goal.
06:34But do you know what?
06:35For me, I think that's a holding offence in the box that starts slightly before it and probably does, in
06:43a roundabout way, contribute to the whole situation.
06:46So, I'm going to give a penalty kick to West Ham as well.
06:49But I would not be even remotely confident that was 100% the correct decision.
06:55Because how can you be?
06:57And that brings us to the real problem here.
07:00As this ball comes in, 15 separate players are either in or attacking the six-yard box.
07:08West Ham United have every single player bar the taker and one man back in the box.
07:16Arsenal have every single player within 12 yards of the goal line.
07:21It is just impossible.
07:23And if you ever listen to a single thing I say, please, right, make it this.
07:28It is impossible to fairly and consistently enforce a contact sport that gets played like this.
07:38You are asking one guy here and one guy here to keep an eye on what are seven or eight
07:44different individual battles at every corner and throw-in.
07:50And then telling some nerds in a truck with a screen about that big to double-check everything for them
07:56without, you know, delaying the game.
07:58And don't get me wrong, every single team is at it now.
08:01Like, this isn't even an Arsenal thing.
08:03We're literally looking here at a West Ham United corner.
08:07This is from the Liverpool versus Chelsea game the day before.
08:10Van Dijk hits the bar and there are, again, like 15 people all crushing around the six-yard box.
08:16Two players hit the deck.
08:17There's three of them physically holding someone in place.
08:20Van Dijk chucks Kaiseido around like he's an empty tracksuit.
08:24Like, there's honestly about five different fouls going on here for both teams.
08:29And if you were the referee, you could blow the whistle for absolutely any of them.
08:33But this is just...
08:35This is the game now.
08:36There's almost no point.
08:38And the Times, right, they published this graph earlier in the season.
08:41An open play XG in the Premier League is at a 17-year low, while set-piece XG is at
08:48an all-time high.
08:50And it's just a trend.
08:51Like, it will pass eventually and we'll all be talking about something else.
08:55But right now, most teams are constantly trying to create situations like this one and like this one.
09:01And they are almost entirely un-refereable.
09:05If you can force as many of these as possible in a game,
09:08they are so chaotic that you will just get goals.
09:12And I mean, like, it's personal preference, obviously, right?
09:15But I'm not sure that stuff like this is good for the sport, right?
09:22But I am sure, as sure as eggs is eggs, that it's not a good thing for the discourse.
09:29Since this goal was disallowed, and rightly so, remember, right,
09:33we have seen maybe 10 still images of other goals this season,
09:38mostly scored by Arsenal, that prove that they do the exact same thing.
09:44And that the game is gone by making this decision.
09:48But again, and not to be accused of, like, twerking for them,
09:53or whatever it is, people like that, say on the internet,
09:56I went and had a look.
09:57I went and had a look at those goals that people keep bringing up.
10:00And none of them, none of them are the exact same thing.
10:03They're all very different.
10:04But don't get me wrong, they are exactly the same as these bits here,
10:08where there's clearly a lot of fouling going on for both sides,
10:11and it's completely individually subjective
10:13as to where you would personally draw the line on that.
10:17But, like, the main one is their goal at the start of the season on Man United.
10:21And there is contact on the goalkeeper.
10:24But I would actually say, again, as a goalkeeper,
10:27that he makes the mistake of getting under the flight of the ball
10:31rather than in line with it.
10:32He does that.
10:33And then when he tries to jump back across to correct it,
10:36Saliba is just sort of there, which he is allowed to be.
10:40And just to bring it all back, like, to Debo.
10:43He's allowed to be there as well in the same way that Saliba is,
10:47but he's not allowed to be there
10:48with his arm across the chest of the goalkeeper
10:51and his hand stopping him from catching the ball.
10:56That's quite different.
10:57It's like crowding the goalkeeper is one thing,
11:00physically holding him is another.
11:03And whether you think it's particularly fair or not,
11:05there is a massive difference between the two.
11:08And the difference is that one of them never gets given as a foul
11:11and the other will.
11:13But even if you do think this is a foul,
11:15then again, widen the lens, look at the rest of the box.
11:17Is this a foul?
11:19Is this a foul?
11:20Is this?
11:21And that goal was obviously given, right?
11:23But if the whistle goes
11:24and it's disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper
11:27or the whistle goes
11:28and Arsenal get a penalty
11:31for some of the grappling going on here,
11:33I'd actually say all three of those decisions
11:36could very easily be correct.
11:39Like, again, can you imagine being a ref
11:41and looking at this situation here?
11:44You just wouldn't bother, would you?
11:47Like, what's the point?
11:48And just to top the whole thing off,
11:50the only example anyone can seem to find
11:53of this exact thing happening
11:56comes in an Arsenal game
11:59where they get a goal ruled out
12:01for holding the goalkeeper.
12:03So, yes, physically doing that
12:06as opposed to just crowding them
12:08is clearly a foul.
12:11Even in this incredibly subjective field
12:14where nobody is ever probably actually right,
12:17this decision is.
12:19So what is...
12:20What's my actual point here?
12:23Subjectivity, I guess,
12:24is what I'm trying to say.
12:26Stop looking for consistency
12:28in situations like this one
12:31because your favourite teams
12:32and your favourite players
12:33have deliberately engineered the game
12:36to make that impossible.
12:39It's not the referee's fault,
12:40I don't think.
12:41They literally can't win.
12:43Like, honestly,
12:44the best system we have
12:45or ever will have
12:46for stuff like this
12:47is just...
12:48You win some,
12:50you lose some.
12:51Like, even if that winds up
12:53deciding the outcome of a title race
12:55or somebody's relegation.
12:58That's sport.
12:59So, yes, there you go.
13:00People are still bringing this up
13:02on Thursday or whatever.
13:03There's a load of stuff
13:04you can say back to them
13:05so it looks like you've actually
13:06thought about it
13:08for longer than five seconds.
13:09Thank you very much for watching.
13:10Your reminder
13:11that we are now
13:13six days away
13:14from the Hackney Half Marathon.
13:16I presume there's a lot of Arsenal fans
13:17watching this
13:18and that is a London-based run
13:20so I don't know where that makes it.
13:22What I'm saying is a half marathon.
13:23I'm trying to raise some money for Calm,
13:24the campaign against living miserably.
13:26They're a suicide prevention charity
13:28here in the UK
13:28and if you've ever had to rely
13:30on mental health services
13:32in Britain,
13:32you will know
13:34everything's on its arse.
13:36So, charities like Calm,
13:37like Mind,
13:37like all of them,
13:38they have to do such important work
13:40picking up the slack
13:41and being there for people
13:42when they really need it.
13:43So, if we could raise
13:44a little bit of money for them
13:45to help out,
13:45that would be absolutely amazing.
13:46The link is in the description
13:48down below.
13:49I've gone and hurt my knee
13:51a week out
13:51so this is going to suck.
13:53This is absolutely going to suck.
13:54So, if we do hit
13:55a couple of fundraising targets
13:57that might make it
13:58slightly more bearable.
14:01Anyway,
14:01let me know what you think
14:02of the VAR decision
14:03and just what's going on
14:04in your life.
14:04I am genuinely interested
14:05in the comments down below.
14:06Don't forget to subscribe
14:07to ACFC
14:09at the button
14:09if you haven't already
14:10and you get me across
14:11all the social medias
14:11at Adam Cleary,
14:12C-L-E-R-Y.
14:14Correct decision.
14:16I wish it wasn't.
14:17It's a lot funnier
14:18if it wasn't,
14:18but it was.
14:20Sorry.
14:21Bye.
14:23Bye.
14:23Bye.
14:23Bye.
14:24Bye.
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