Clattenburg: 'The referee is afraid to blow the whistle when there is VAR'

"Since VAR appeared, I panicked every time I had to make a decision on the field," No Tippy Tappy Football channel quoted Clattenburg on February 17. "I used to be able to make decisions within a second, but I lost this ability with VAR. Looking at the current referees, I also see they are scared to make decisions. And if the referee doesn't blow the whistle. , VAR does not intervene".

Clattenburg took the example of Chelsea's 1-1 draw with West Ham in the 23rd round of the Premier League on February 11, when midfielder Tomas Soucek blocked Conor Gallagher's shot in the home penalty area, but neither the referee nor the VAR. intervene to give the away team a penalty. He said that the referee did not blow Soucek's penalty, so VAR did not let Chelsea receive a penalty.

"VAR may think that the referee has more power, so they are afraid to intervene and change the decision," Mr Clattenburg added. "If the referee blows the whistle initially, VAR will probably support the decision and penalize West Ham. Unlike in my day, the referees are now more afraid to blow the whistle."

Clattenburg worked as a referee in the English Premier League from 2004-2017, once refereed the Champions League and Euro 2016 finals. After leaving England, he worked in Saudi Arabia, China and Egypt.

In an article for the Daily Mail in November 2022, Clattenburg also said that Premier League referees are relying too much on VAR, and he wants them to be more proactive in situations on the pitch.

VAR became the focus of the 23rd round of the Premier League, when the head of the referee Howard Webb admitted that his associates made mistakes that caused Brighton and Arsenal to drop points in two different matches. In the Europa League on the evening of February 16, coach Erik ten Hag and Xavi both complained that the referees missed the penalty of Man Utd and Barca.

According to Sun statistics in January 2022, all 49 times VAR intervened and called the referee to go out on the touchline to review the situation in the Premier League, the whistle-holder changed the original decision.

According to the rules of football, the decision in the final situations always rests with the referee.