West Ham forward Michail Antonio says the video assistant referee (VAR) system needs to be “binned”.
The Hammers were controversially denied a 90th-minute equaliser at Chelsea on Saturday after VAR intervened.
Referees’ body PGMOL effectively accepted that decision – and a second VAR call at Newcastle United v Crystal Palace – was wrong.
“It was a madness, that’s what I am going to call it. An actual madness,” said Antonio.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast on BBC Sounds, he added:
“I have said this many times. It needs to be binned.”
The PGMOL said it will fully co-operate with a Premier League review of last weekend’s incidents.
The system is in its fourth full Premier League season after it was introduced in 2019. The Premier League claimed the percentage of correct “key match decisions” rose from 82% without it to 94% in that first season.
The purpose is for the VAR to flag “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents” to advise the on-field referee.
