Rueful Fulham boss Scott Parker slams VAR for trying to create ‘perfect’ football and believes it will ‘ultimately DESTROY the game’… after handball decision which denied his side an equaliser against Tottenham
- Fulham were denied an equaliser against Tottenham for a contentious handball
- Via VAR, Josh Maja’s goal was disallowed due to a handball by Mario Lemina
- An IFAB law change on Friday, coming in from July 1, means that an accidental handball leading to a team-mate scoring a goal will no longer be an offence
- But it comes too late for Scott Parker, who says VAR is destroying the game
Fulham manager Scott Parker believes VAR and trying to create the ‘perfect’ football game are ultimately going to destroy the sport.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the game’s lawmaking body, on Friday announced that an accidental handball leading to a team-mate scoring a goal or having a goalscoring opportunity will no longer be an offence from July 1.
It comes less than 24 hours after Fulham found themselves on the wrong end of that controversial section of the law when they were denied a second-half equaliser against Tottenham due to a handball ruling.
Fulham manager Scott Parker says VAR trying to create ‘perfect’ football will ruin the game
Fulham were outraged at the decision to disallow the goal due to handball by Mario Lemina
Josh Maja fired home for the Cottagers but the goal was ruled out after VAR replays showed that, in the build-up, the ball had cannoned into the hand of Mario Lemina from a Davinson Sanchez clearance.
Parker, whose side lost that match 1-0, said at his press conference on Friday: ‘I have just heard now that IFAB have decided to change that rule, which is disappointing.
Josh Maja thought he had levelled things up at Craven Cottage in the second-half on Thursday
‘We are looking for perfection, and I am not just talking about football but also the world we live in.
‘We are trying to create a sterile, perfect-scenario game which I think ultimately is going to destroy it.’
Former Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has been awarded £100,000 damages after suing former Fulham assistant director of football Craig Kline for libel and harassment.