A VAR expert has responded to claims on social media that an official was looking at his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday. The two sides met in an electric, end-to-end clash and shared the spoils thanks to a late Trent Alexander-Arnold equaliser.
Controversy arose in the dying stages of the match when referee Anthony Taylor ruled out Gabriel Jesus’ late winner, deeming Jakub Kiwior fouled Dominik Szoboszlai in the build-up. Then, a post on social media speculated that the VAR official in charge of the game was actually seen looking at his Fantasy Premier League team during the contest.
A VAR expert has responded to the viral post, though, and clarified the situation.
Premier League Match Manager App Was in Use
Personal devices are not allowed in the VAR hub
While at first glance it does look suspicious like the VAR official was on Fantasy Premier League, VAR expert Dale Johnson says it was actually the Premier League Match Manager app that was seen on the device. The ESPN editor also clarified that personal devices aren’t allowed in the VAR hub, so it’s extremely unlikely any official would ever have access to Fantasy Premier League while working on a Premier League match.
Johnson also explained that the app shows the match that the officials are working on, shutting down any suggestions that it was being used for anything other than the task at hand.
VAR and its officials have been no strangers to controversy since the technology was introduced into the Premier League, but it’s clear that speculation and accusations were wide of the mark on this particular occasion.