Wrong VAR calls a big blow to title contenders in Premier League, Bundesliga

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If you take the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund might be denied their chance to topple Bayern Munich and win a league title in 11 years when they were denied a clear penalty in the 1-1 draw against Vfl Bochum.

In the 65th minute, Dortmund striker Karim Adeyami was brought down in the box by Bochum’s Danilo Soares. It seemed a clear and obvious penalty but referee Sascha Stegemann waved play on. To the chagrin of the Dortmund fans, the VAR also did not step in to intervene and the game went on as per usual.

Referee Sascha Stegemann, center, discusses with Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Bochum and Borussia Dortmund in Bochum, Germany. (AP)

The backlash was so huge that Stegemann even admitted that he was wrong in denying Dortmund a penalty. “My perception was that Adeyemi tries to imitate contact and then falls over the Bochum defender, but I have to conclude that we made the wrong decision in that moment. Contrary to my perception, the contact is not made by Adeyemi, but by the defender. That should have been a penalty kick for Dortmund there,” he said as per ESPN.

The German FA also issued a statement that said that a penalty should have been awarded but these apologies will sound hollow to Dortmund ears as Bayern Munich’s win at Hertha Berlin enabled them to take the slender 1-point lead on top of the table with just 4 games remaining in the season.

Moving over to the English Premier League, another decision that might have huge ramifications in the title race was when in Arsenal’s match against Brentford back in February, the VAR Lee Mason forgot to draw offside lines on the equalizer by Ivan Toney.

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Christian Norgaard was in an offside position when he crossed to Toney and the goal would have been ruled out if the VAR lines had been drawn. But that was not the case and Arsenal were pegged back to a 1-1 draw, dropping two points. The aftermath saw Mason leave the referees’ body PGMOL by mutual agreement.

Although the Gunners are on top of the table for the time being, title rivals Manchester City have one game in hand over them, an obstacle that might be too much for Arsenal to ultimately overcome.

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It’s a long shot to claim that these decisions were wholly responsible for tilting the title race, but the errors undoubtedly might have played a huge part in changing the fabric of competition where even a slight misjudgment can lead to a team winning and losing silverware.

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