Former England striker Alan Shearer has launched a scathing attack on match officials after what he described as a "petrified" VAR decision during Arsenal's dominant 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Controversial Opening Goal
Eberechi Eze fired Arsenal into a commanding position during Sunday's North London Derby at the Emirates Stadium, but his opening strike has become the centre of a major controversy. The 27-year-old midfielder doubled Arsenal's lead shortly before half-time, driving the ball through several bodies to find the bottom corner.
The incident that sparked Shearer's fury occurred when Eze's shot passed by both Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso, with Arsenal teammates Martin Zubimendi and Leandro Trossard standing in offside positions behind them. Despite their proximity to the action, neither player was adjudged to have interfered with play or obstructed Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario's line of sight.
Shearer's Blunt Assessment
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, the Newcastle United legend didn't hold back in his criticism of the decision-making process. "This first one should have been offside," Shearer stated emphatically.
"I just honestly think that the referees and the VAR have got themselves in such a pickle with this situation. I thought they were petrified to give the correct decision." Shearer argued that the officials were directly affected by recent controversies involving Nottingham Forest and Liverpool decisions.
"There's no way those guys in front of him weren't directly in the line of sight of the goalkeeper," he continued. "Therefore, it was clearly offside. Yet because of what's gone on, with the Forest goal, with what happened with Liverpool at Man City, they were petrified of making the decision, and they just panicked and they got the wrong decision."
Richards Joins the Criticism
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards supported Shearer's viewpoint, highlighting the ongoing issue of consistency in VAR decisions. "We keep saying 'consistency' and all those things, but it either is offside or it isn't," Richards noted.
Richards referenced the Virgil van Dijk incident against Manchester City as another example of confusing interpretation. "If someone's in front of the goalkeeper - the one against Man City with van Dijk, that should have stood, shouldn't it? But someone made an obvious attempt to play the ball, so you would say it is affecting the judgment of the goalkeeper because he's moving."
The former defender questioned why officials don't simplify their approach: "If you're in an offside position and you're in front of the goalkeeper, why don't they just give it offside? It would be easy for them to just say 'That's offside' because then you don't get 'Should it', 'Was it', 'I'm not sure about it'. They're just making it more difficult for themselves."
Historical Context and Aftermath
Despite the controversy surrounding his first goal, Eze went on to complete a remarkable hat-trick, becoming the first player to score three goals in a North London Derby since Alan Sunderland achieved the feat in 1978.
Shearer acknowledged the quality of Eze's strike while maintaining his position on the officiating error. "It was a good job it didn't make that much of a difference but, if it had, then you could imagine the backfire that would have happened. It was offside, but it was still a great strike."
The decision-making process involved referee Michael Oliver on the field, with VAR Stuart Attwell and assistant Constantine Hatzidakis reviewing the incident at Stockley Park. All officials ultimately agreed with the original decision to award the goal.
Gary Lineker offered his perspective on the broader issue, suggesting that officials might be overcompreting the rules. "When I played if you were offside, you were offside. That was it. I don't know whether that would be better or worse for the actual game. But, at the minute, they're trying to be so specific, with not just offside but handballs, this and that."
Shearer concluded with a damning summary of recent VAR performance: "They've just made such a mess of the last couple of weeks with those decisions." The controversy adds to growing concerns about the consistency and application of VAR technology in the Premier League.
