Andrews questions VAR after costly Thiago red card
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews questioned the way VAR is being used in the Premier League after Igor Thiago’s first-half red card proved costly in Brentford’s 2-0 defeat at Brighton.
Thiago was originally booked by referee Michael Oliver for his reaction after Chema Andres pulled his shirt and pushed him. The Brighton midfielder was also cautioned.
VAR then sent Oliver to the pitchside monitor and he upgraded Thiago’s card to a red, judging that the Brazilian had used force when pushing his opponent in the face with a raised arm.
The Bees were already a goal down to Diego Gómez’s superb long-range strike when Thiago went off, and Pascal Gross made it 2-0 with a penalty before half-time.
“I’m struggling to believe in this day and age where we see the referee’s call on pitch and the bar of where they’re given the licence to referee in-game, which is what I should think it should be, but he’s been sent to the screen,” Andrews said.
Both of Brentford’s league defeats this season have come after they were reduced to 10 men. Yehor Yarmoliuk was sent off in the first half of last month’s 2-1 home loss to Liverpool.
“We’ve lost two games in the league this season and both have been when we’ve gone down to 10 men, so you need to analyse yourself first clearly,” the Bees boss admitted.
“On both scenarios, we can do better,” he added. “On both scenarios, the opposition player has been the one to provoke the situation and antagonise our player and react towards our player in an aggressive way.
“Players’ reactions now mean everything,” Andrews said. “I’m going to reiterate it: we should do better. But the game is in a state now of a place I don’t particularly like. We’ll have to have a look at that because it’s costing us.”
Andrews does not want his side to lose their edge, though.
He said: “We play on the edge, we’re a team that likes to play on the edge, I want us to be on the edge. But it clearly cost us.”
