October 27th 2024.
Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino, both players for Arsenal, had a tense moment with referee Anthony Taylor during the recent match against Liverpool. Despite some speculation online, the VAR officials did not have the Fantasy Premier League app on display during the game.
The match between these two title contenders was a back-and-forth affair, with Mohamed Salah's late goal resulting in a 2-2 draw. Arsenal had taken the lead twice, thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino, but they were ultimately unable to secure the win as Liverpool fought back with goals from Virgil van Dijk and Salah.
While the game itself was relatively uneventful, there was one moment that caught the attention of Premier League fans. During the first half, as VAR was checking for a possible offside call against Merino, some social media users noticed that one of the officials seemed to have the Fantasy Premier League app open on their phone.
One user joked that the VAR team must have been using the app to make their decisions, while another suggested that this may have influenced their call in favor of Arsenal. However, it has since been confirmed that the app on display was actually the Premier League Match Manager app, and that no personal devices, such as phones, are allowed in the VAR hub during a match.
Despite this clarification, not everyone was happy with the officials at the end of the game. Liverpool manager Arne Slot claimed that he was mistakenly given a yellow card by the fourth official, Sam Barrott, who misheard his complaint to Ibrahima Konate about Arsenal's time-wasting tactics in the second half.
Slot explained that he had said "this is a f***ing joke" in reference to Arsenal constantly falling to the ground, but the fourth official thought he said "you are a f***ing joke" and gave him a yellow card. This now puts Slot on two yellow cards, meaning he has to be careful in the future.
It seems that even with the use of VAR, there is still controversy and frustration surrounding the decisions made by officials. But in the end, the match between Arsenal and Liverpool ended in a draw, leaving fans of both teams eager for their next encounter.
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