Disappointed Graham Potter mentions Nuno Santo’ name as he rages on about how Nottingham Forest were helped by the VAR to pick up undeserved 3 points after Controversial call by the Officials – What he said about Forest’ win left fans Speechless!

Another match, another rough outing for VAR.

Nottingham Forest’s victory at West Ham was packed with drama, featuring stunning goals, glaring mistakes, and even a few scuffles. But once again, the spotlight falls on the officials and the technology.

The issue for the video assistant referee this time occurred after Nikola Milenkovic nodded Anthony Elanga’s free-kick past Alphonse Areola to make it 2-0 for Forest in the second half.

It appeared there might have been a tight offside call, so VAR was brought in for a swift review.

That swift review turned into a painful six-minute pause as the semi-automated offside system was malfunctioning, and the communication link between on-field referee Sam Barrott and the VAR was also down.

The Premier League Match Centre stated on X, external: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Milenkovic in an onside position and Nicolas Dominguez in an offside position, but deemed not to be interfering with play.

“The semi-automated offside technology was not accessible to the VAR during this incident. There were also problems with the VAR communication system to the on-field officials.”

This forced the video assistant to rely on a subjective judgment, while unfortunate Barrott – targeted by jeers and whistles from every corner of London Stadium – had to clarify the malfunction to players and coaching staff.

As West Ham manager Graham Potter dryly remarked: “They were drawing lines, and I think they ran out of ink.

“It happens, there is nothing we can do. It is not ideal for me, [Forest head coach] Nuno, the ref, the people in stadium – they think VAR are taking a long time deciding what to do, but it’s the tech.”