Stuart Attwell is back in VAR hot water after Bournemouth sink furious Wolves
- VAR controversy resurfaces as Bournemouth’s win sparks outrage from Wolves.
And to think that Stuart Attwell had hoped for a controversy-free, low-key week. The referee faced criticism once more, but this time it came from the enraged fans of Wolves rather than a Greek shipping mogul, as he rejected Hwang Hee-chan’s second-half equaliser at home against Bournemouth due to the smallest of tangles in the buildup. Hwang’s header was first given credit by Attwell, but Darren England, the VAR, urged him to go to the pitch-side monitor to see a resentful but brief touch with Justin Kluivert by Matheus Cunha.
Cunha was about to be shoved by Kluivert when the Wolves substitute threw an arm in his direction, but it didn’t seem to make contact with the player. Despite the brief confrontation, Kluivert’s decision to not appeal after Hwang’s excellent cross from Nélson Semedo was telling. For the second time this season, Gary O’Neil put his hands on his head in shock, and the supporters told Attwell the rest. “Nowadays, it’s not just football,” exclaimed the South Bank.
Andoni Iraola, who took over for O’Neil in the summer, had a positive performance and outcome for Bournemouth, but it was certainly overshadowed by a late red card for Milos Kerkez for a rough charge on Matt Doherty and Hwang’s disallowed strike. To break the club record in the Premier League with 47 points, Bournemouth needs two more points from their remaining four games.
It was pretty easy going until Kerkez was sent off, but they managed to escape a late scare when Maximilian Kilman had another goal disallowed in the 100th minute, just after Wolves custodian José Sá was given the all-clear to go up for a corner.
Kilman was promptly signalled offside by the assistant referee, and England confirmed the call. Only this month has England resumed its VAR responsibilities after his egregious blunder in Tottenham’s September victory over Liverpool. Attwell’s ears have probably been burning ever since Nottingham Forest expressed their displeasure with his performance as VAR, a function he will play at Euro 2024, on multiple occasions, via a variety of tactics, both in public and privately, during Forest’s loss against Everton last Sunday. Attwell was once again the guy in the centre, and with both of these teams stuck in the middle of the table, it didn’t seem like a very low-key way to make a comeback. But in the Premier League, the focus never goes away.
O’Neil is so tired of VAR that, in an attempt to avoid coming out as “moaning” about the decisions made, he kindly sidestepped the obvious line of inquiry following. Between now and the end of the season, let me figure out how to get this team some more points, and let those guys decide what the right course of action is.
It gave the Wolves boss “no qualms” that Attwell would be playing again so soon. “I hope he is doing okay, it’s been a tough few days for him,” O’Neil remarked, more concerned with his team’s lacklustre performance in the first half. When Kilman mishandled and failed to clear Kerkez’s cutback from the left flank, Antoine Semenyo scored the game’s lone goal.
From the Wolves’ point of view, it was far too simple. The manager of Luton, Rob Edwards, who is watching the match from the stands before his club travels to Molineux on Saturday, is sure to have noticed some weaknesses. Hwang and Pablo Sarabia proved difficult for Wolves to incorporate, as Bournemouth’s combination of Dominic Solanke, Semenyo, and Kluivert wreaked havoc. Once more, Ryan Christie was Bournemouth’s greatest player; he could drive forward in one breath and put an end to attacks in another.
With Doherty arriving at halftime and springing into the box before being crowded out in the first few seconds of the restart, the Wolves made the switch to a back four in the second half, and the early signs were encouraging. Later, Doherty headed over from a cross by Mario Lemina.
Cunha arrived next. When Hwang’s bullet header rippled the Bournemouth net, the Wolves believed they had equalised, but Attwell and VAR had other ideas. Iraola stated, “I think it’s clear and obvious, and everyone sees the foul because I think Justin gets involved in the play after, and he cannot defend the cross properly.” “I don’t believe it to be contentious.”
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