FOOTBALL fans have been left scratching their heads again after the audio was released for the VAR decision to send off Jhon Duran against Newcastle.
Duran was dismissed during the Magpies' 3-0 win over Villa on Boxing Day after an incident in which his studs grazed Fabian Schar's back.
The Villa striker was deemed to have deliberately stood on Schar's back and was shown a straight red card by referee Anthony Taylor at the time.
But the decision left Villa manager Unai Emery seething. He said: “Three games before this red card is difficult to accept. No action was taken with the intention of kicking him.”
Aston Villa later had an appeal against the decision rejected, leaving Duran's three-match ban in place.
And the reasons why the decision was not overturned have now been revealed on 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' after audio of the incident was shown.
After Duran's fall to the ground, both the fourth official and assistant referee Anthony Taylor appear to say they believe it was an accident.
Four official Leigh Doughty can be heard saying: “From here it looks coincidental”.
While one of the assistant referees claims the incident was 'reckless' and not dangerous, he suggests Duran should be warned and not sent off.
He said, “So Duran gets behind. To me it's more of a reckless act than anything. He tries to stop and then ends up in the wrong place. So Duran, be careful.”
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However, Anthony Taylor makes his own decision rather than following the advice of his colleagues, citing Fabian Schar “held somewhere else” on his body as a reason for turning red.
He can hear Taylor say, “Wait a minute, him [Schar] is stuck here somewhere else [on his body]. I get a red card.”
Fans are confused and frustrated because Taylor seemed to change his decision based on what Schar was labeled on.
Taking to social media, one fan wrote: “That red card audio from Duran is INCREDIBLE, what's the point of VAR really? Annoying.”
While another added: “There is something so wrong with this system.”
A third fumed: “Absolutely shocking.”
And a fourth posted: “Decided to send him away because of where Schar is being held. Laughable”.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb was present during 'Match Officials Mic'd Up' to explain why the decision did not change and why Villa's appeal was not overturned.
The retired referee explained that Taylor had the best view of the incident and was therefore best placed to make the decision that it would be a red card, adding that there was not enough evidence to prove his decision was incorrect was to undo this.
He said: “You can hear different opinions on the communication. The fourth official makes a comment based on what he has seen, the assistant referee suggests it might be a yellow card.
“But the best placed match official is by far the referee, who is right behind the situation.”
Adding: “It is always difficult to read the minds of players, you have to assess the actions we see, the physical evidence to make our judgements.
“And in this situation the referee saw the action and felt it was a red card violation.
“And the VAR saw the movement of that leg on Schar's back and didn't feel that the referee's decision on the field was clearly wrong – he probably agreed with it – and it remained an on-field decision like a red card.” .”
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