Chelsea secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday during the F.A Cup fourth-round clash on Sunday.
The hosts went 1-0 up through a Willian penalty in the opening 45 minutes, before Callum Hudson-Odoi and the Brazilian finished the job in the second-half.
However, things might have been different had VAR not overruled a penalty referee Andre Marriner awarded Wednesday just before Willian’s opening goal.
The decision irked the visitors, but former EPL ref Mark Clattenburg has claimed it was the right call, and he also believes Marriner got it right at the other end when awarding Chelsea a penalty minutes after.
“Well done, VAR. Referee Andre Marriner awards a penalty, despite it being a perfectly good challenge by defender Ethan Ampadu on Joey Pelupessy. Marriner, from his angle, thinks Pelupessy plays the ball first and so he points to the spot. However, as we can see from the television replays, it was in fact a good tackle by Ampadu and therefore not a foul,” Clattenburg told Sportsmail.
“This is why VAR is introduced – to prevent these incorrect calls. As for why a drop ball was awarded rather than a corner, the ball was still in play when Marriner blew his whistle to award a penalty. That means the restart has to be a drop ball. It seems strange, but those are the rules.
“Marriner then awards Chelsea a penalty at the other end and VAR was not needed to overturn this one. Sam Hutchinson clearly stamps on Cesar Azpilicueta’s foot so a spot-kick was correct.”
VAR continues to divide opinion ahead of its introduction to the Premier League next season, and it will be interesting to see how fans, players and clubs react to it.
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