Scott Parker Slams VAR After Burnley's Last-Minute Defeat to Manchester United

Burnley manager Scott Parker has expressed his frustration with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system after his side’s gut-wrenching 3-2 loss to Manchester United at Turf Moor on Saturday. The Clarets had battled back to draw 2-2 in a thrilling second half, only for Bruno Fernandes to convert a controversial stoppage-time penalty after Jaidon Anthony was adjudged to have pulled Amad Diallo’s shirt inside the box.

Parker, who was visibly upset following the match, did not mince his words when discussing the VAR decision that handed United all three points. The penalty, which was awarded after referee Sam Barrott was instructed to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor, was a pivotal moment in a game that had seen Burnley show real character to come from behind twice.

The Controversial Penalty

In the lead-up to the penalty, Diallo was brought down by Anthony in the final moments of the match, but Parker felt the initial tug on Anthony by Diallo was not considered. The Burnley boss argued that the referee had not spotted the infringement, and yet VAR decided it was a “clear and obvious error,” which led to the penalty being given.

“I think it’s tough,” Parker said after the match. “My understanding of it was it was always the on-field decision. If not, it needs to be clear and obvious.”

Parker was not convinced by the VAR intervention, questioning the accuracy of the decision-making process. “I think Diallo’s played for it really well,” he added. “Don’t get me wrong, the pull was there and that happened before it. But I actually felt that Jaidon got a tug early from Diallo that then gives him a yard to get in front of him, where Jaidon does clearly pull his shirt.”

Despite Parker’s belief that the infringement was not as clear-cut as VAR suggested, the penalty stood, with Fernandes keeping his cool to score from the spot and snatch the win for United.

A Tense, Stop-Start Game

The controversial penalty wasn’t the only decision that left Burnley fans and staff feeling aggrieved. Lyle Foster thought he had given Burnley a 2-1 lead earlier in the match, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside by a hair’s breadth. Parker was incredulous at how narrowly Foster’s effort had been deemed offside, adding that it was extremely difficult to pinpoint exactly which part of his body had been offside in the first place.

“The game's going that way,” Parker lamented. “It's going to become the most sterile game there is.”

Parker’s frustration wasn’t limited to the penalty incident; the growing influence of VAR in football, he argued, is taking away the spontaneity and excitement from the game. “We’re only probably months or a year away from not celebrating goals,” Parker warned. “I stand on the touchline, you score a goal and there's a million things that go through your mind. Checklists, what happened three minutes before it, was that offside? Did he stand on his toe two minutes before we’ve gone through on goal? Is it offside? We need to get the computer out by the millimetre to check whether it is offside.”

The Changing Landscape of Football

Parker, who has been vocal about his concerns regarding VAR in the past, expressed a growing sense that the role of referees and linesmen is diminishing due to the ever-increasing use of technology. "Linesmen and referees really are slowly becoming redundant," Parker stated. "The game's becoming re-reffed in every phase."

He further criticized the trend of perfection that seems to dominate modern football. “I think we live in a world of perfection, don’t we?” he said. “Everyone wants perfection and social media brings that. I think we want perfection in a game of football, which I just don’t agree with, but it is what it is.”

Parker’s comments reflect a broader disillusionment with the current state of football, where the emphasis on minute details and technology often overshadows the raw, emotional intensity that has traditionally defined the sport.

Will VAR Change the Way We Watch Football?

As the use of VAR becomes increasingly prevalent, Parker is concerned about the direction in which the game is headed. “This game, I’ve been in the arena, is going at a serious pace. It’s a contact sport and there’s decisions that you have to make in milliseconds,” he explained. “But now we can break it down, we can slow it down. He stood on his toe at that moment. That’s the way the game’s going. It’s becoming even more theatrical at times.”

The Burnley boss acknowledged that VAR’s presence has caused football to become more “stop-start,” affecting the flow of the game and the passion with which it is played. The dramatic ebb and flow of a match, where emotions run high and goals are celebrated in the moment, has been interrupted by the constant spectre of video reviews.

“The game’s become very stop-start in certain moments,” Parker said. “The emotion of the game is probably coming out of it because you just don’t know at any moment what could have happened.”

The Future of VAR

While VAR was introduced with the aim of improving decision-making and ensuring fairness in football, Parker’s comments highlight a growing discontent among many in the footballing world. Managers, players, and fans alike are questioning whether the technology is having the desired effect, or whether it’s simply turning the sport into an exercise in micromanagement.

For now, Burnley’s narrow defeat to Manchester United will serve as a reminder of the sometimes arbitrary nature of VAR decisions. Despite their valiant effort, the Clarets were left to rue another tough loss — a loss compounded by the very technology that was meant to prevent such injustices.