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The use of technology in football has been on the increase over the past few years but none seems to create as much heated debate and questioning as that of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). By and large, it is felt that minor and visible calls are improved across the course of the season with on-pitch referees getting extra help. However, there have been several high-profile incidents of late that have led to clubs, or personnel within them, complaining about the eventual decision or decision-making process, with the most recent coming in the Champions League. Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag felt aggrieved that a number of calls went against them in their 4-3 defeat to FC Copenhagen, including a decision to send off Marcus Rashford for serious foul play. Here’s everything on VAR you need to know, including the latest causes for complaint against it. What has gone wrong? Most recently, Man United complained about Rashford’s red card, given out for stepping across and onto the foot and shin of an opponent in a Champions League encounter. Ten Hag insisted his side had seen three “very debatable” penalties go against them in four games and called his forward’s sending off “very harsh”. In domestic football, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta complained over “unacceptable” errors from on-pitch and VAR officials as his team lost to Newcastle, while Wolves boss Gary O’Neil labelled a penalty decision given against his team and upheld by VAR as “scandalous” - also against Newcastle. Ange Postecoglou suggested recently that clubs have to shoulder part of the blame for long stoppages for VAR, saying: “Some of it is self inflicted because if we come out every week complaining about decisions that is what will happen, every decision gets forensically checked and we will be sitting around for a long time in every game trying to figure out what is going on.” However, it must be noted that the vast majority of these are subjective opinions and where Arteta sees fault, another manager, supporter or, indeed, official may see justification in decision. One incident which was not subjective, but instead a quite clear mistake, came with Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham being ruled out for offside and then allowed to stay disallowed, despite the VAR officials running their processes and showing the forward was onside. The “significant human error” came as a result of the official, Darren England, appearing to forget that offside rather than a goal had been awarded in the first place. To another extreme, Millie Bright criticised the fact there was no VAR in the first edition of the Women’s Nations League, after a clearly offside goal was allowed to stand against England which would have been simple to rule out. Further clear VAR errors which PGMOL have had to apologise for include no penalty being awarded to Wolves against Man United after Andre Onana clattered Sasa Kalajdzic, a Brentford goal against Arsenal not being checked properly with no offside lines drawn and a West Ham late equaliser being ruled out for a foul, where none was apparent. What has gone right? In truth, a lot. It’s overlooked when three or four calls are spot-on, when one causes serious complaint or at least is a subjective call which a majority seem to disagree with. As an example, in the incident-packed Tottenham vs Chelsea fixture, several goals were correctly ruled out for offside through use - or checking - of VAR and the penalty awarded which saw Cristian Romero sent off was also a result of VAR intervention. Generally speaking, these calls that are widely accepted as correct do not get highlighted, partially because the technology exists for that very reason: it’s expected to help officials make the right calls with a second look. That doesn’t mean they don’t occur, though. The Premier League reported that 82 per cent of decisions were correct in the season before VAR was introduced, rising to 94 per cent being correct in 2019/20. What is the process for VAR checks? From the Premier League website: VAR will be used only for “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents” in four match-changing situations: goals; penalty decisions; direct red-card incidents; and mistaken identity. When any of those match situations occur or potentially occur, VAR is constantly rewatching and monitoring match footage from the hub at Stockley Park. If there is a decision to be made, the VAR or Assistant VAR (AVAR) will relay to the referee that play should be halted while checks are made, before recommending either an overturn, a pitchside check of the monitor for the ref or a continuation of play with the on-pitch original decision. The video officials have until the ball goes dead to inform the referee that a check is underway if play is already ongoing. The referee can then either check the monitor or accept the VAR recommendation. Upon reviewing the pitchside monitor, they may then stick with their own initial assessment or overturn the original, before communicating their new decision to the crowd. What have PGMOL said? The refereeing chief of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, Howard Webb, took over the role last year to improve the standard of officiating in the English game and to help oversee a smoother use of technology. PGMOL confirmed to the League Managers’ Association “they are actively looking at how best to incorporate VARs into match-day refereeing teams, to ensure the dynamic between on-field referee and VAR is conducive to producing positive outcomes.” After the Diaz incident, the organisation “acknowledge[d] a significant human error occurred” and brought in additional processes to ensure no repeat happened. They also released the audio of that incident, an “unusual step” according to Webb, “to show everybody what was very quickly pretty apparent to us, a human error and loss of concentration.” Webb has suggested the pool of VAR-specific officials will be increased but Lee Mason presents a cautionary tale. The former referee was appointed a full-time VAR for 2022/23, but departed the role last season after the aforementioned error over Brentford’s goal against Arsenal. Mason, who had already been stood down from the officiating list that campaign previously for wrongly disallowing a Newcastle goal, was labelled a “serial offender” by ex-PGMOL boss Keith Hackett - however, at the start of the current campaign, Mason was re-hired as a referees’ coach for the lower leagues. It is not thought he has ongoing work with VAR but that has not been confirmed by PGMOL, nor why his credentials are suited to guiding less-experienced officials despite having been removed from his post already. Read More What is VAR, how does it work and what are the biggest problems? Mikel Arteta: ‘I’m completely with referees’ Mauricio Pochettino learned lessons from famous battle to mature as manager Unai Emery acknowledges good fortune opened the door for Villa’s victory ‘Great result’ cheers David Moyes as West Ham have another good European night Liverpool angered by VAR as Jarell Quansah goal ruled out in Europa League defeat

Gutsy Wolves stunned Manchester City to pull off a shock 2-1 win and end the champions’ winning run. Hwang Hee-chan’s second-half winner earned the hosts a brilliant battling victory at Molineux. Julian Alvarez’s free-kick cancelled out Ruben Dias’ early own goal but Pep Guardiola’s side were unable to find a way back from Hwang’s strike. They were aiming to win their first seven Premier League games for the first time but instead were beaten by a combative and fired-up Wolves. Defeat puts a fresh spin on next Sunday’s trip to Arsenal, with the Gunners now a point behind the leaders, after Wednesday’s Champions League game at RB Leipzig. For Wolves boss Gary O’Neil it represents vindication for his methods, with the manager having come under early fire this season. Few, though, would have expected the result to come against City. Erling Haaland went close to Matheus Nunes’ cross as, predictably, the visitors dominated early but found Wolves tough to break down. Nunes was the obvious pantomime villain, having effectively gone on strike to force his eventual £53million deadline-day move to City from Wolves. So there was even more delight from the home fans when Wolves stunned Guardiola’s men after 13 minutes. Mateo Kovacic’s loose pass hit Phil Foden which allowed Pedro Neto to seize on the mistake and tear past Nathan Ake. He powered his way down the right, avoiding Ake’s desperate lunge, to race into the area and Dias deflected his cross past Ederson from close range. Neto remains Wolves’ man of the moment, their spark, having given Liverpool nightmares two weeks ago and scored in the 1-1 draw at Luton, but Wolves had been in this position before and faltered. They faded badly after a fine first half against Liverpool to lose and a promising display on O’Neil’s debut at Manchester United yielded nothing. Wolves needed results to back up their grit and determination but Rayan Ait-Nouri gifted Foden a way through in a sloppy moment to underline the fragile nature of their lead. City were left frustrated, Jeremy Doku was haphazard and Haaland engaged in a physical battle with Craig Dawson, while Foden and Nunes were ineffective. As expected, City had plenty of the ball but the Wolves wall stood firm and there was even a degree of control from the hosts when in possession. Guardiola, in the stands serving a touchline ban, had seen enough and hauled Nunes off for Oscar Bobb at the break. Opposite number O’Neil continued to conduct his men from the sidelines as Wolves dug in, while weak Haaland and Alvarez efforts did little to trouble Jose Sa. Yet the hosts’ resistance was broken after 58 minutes. Wolves were still fuming Matheus Cunha’s demands for a free-kick were turned away after a quick break. City went up the other end and Joao Gomes barged into the back of Bobb 20 yards out for Alvarez to then curl his free-kick into the top corner. It was the cue for the visitors to ramp up the pressure in a barnstorming half and Dawson cleared off the line before Sa turned Manuel Akanji’s shot wide. They proved crucial as Hwang turned up the heat on City to grab the winner after 68 minutes. Nelson Semedo was sent dashing down the right and his cross was cleared as far as Hwang, whose shot was blocked by Dias. It fell for Cunha to keep his cool and lay the ball off to Hwang to sweep in from six yards. Molineux erupted and then braced for the expected City onslaught. Kalvin Phillips curled wide and Kyle Walker shot at Sa, yet there was no comeback as Wolves deservedly held on. Read More Pep Guardiola takes positives from Man City display despite Carabao Cup exit Man City’s Carabao Cup exit reveals an Erling Haaland problem Newcastle substitutes take charge to end Man City’s quadruple dream at the first hurdle Kai Havertz off the mark for Arsenal in rampant 4-0 win at Bournemouth West Ham too strong for sorry Sheffield United as Bowen and Soucek set up win Only action from players will prompt changes to brutal schedules – Pep Guardiola

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IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2023--

Beyoncé kickstarted her hotly anticipated Renaissance tour in Stockholm last week, debuting live performances of her hit singles to diehard fans. The star delivered songs from her seventh No 1 album at the Friends Arena, including 'Alien Superstar', 'Pure/Honey' and 'Summer Renaissance' while riding a giant disco horse. She also revived some of her classics such as 'Crazy in Love' and 'Love on Top'. While fans immediately turned to TikTok to watch footage from the gig, some were left underwhelmed by the crowd's reaction. "How could you witness the QUEEN in person and not at minimum do a lil 2 step in your seat," one person hit back, while another added: "Sweden failed her so bad! Some of us were TRYING!" Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter A third person, who claimed to have attended the concert, alleged: "That's true! I was at Stockholm and a girl even tried to shush me." One TikToker, Joshua Pingley (@yourbestfriendjoshua) suggested "Beyoncé hated Sweden," before claiming the crowd was seemingly "older, sitting down and quiet." At a later date in Brussels, she praised fans for their energy adding: "You have been the best audience so far." @yourbestfriendjoshua Beyoncé seemingly SHADES the audience from the first two nights of her Renaissance Tour in Sweden…??? #beyonce While harsh critics were quick to slam Swedish fans, many more jumped in to suggest it's simply "cultural differences in concert etiquette." "Not everyone goes feral like Americans," one wrote. "You should see concerts in Japan." "They still spent their money buying tickets to see her," another added. "Why is everyone tripping at them sitting down? They're clearly enjoying the show." "She made that face cause they were hitting the high notes for 'Love on Top,'" a third fan commented, while one TikToker said: "In Sweden we are told not to stick out and be loud, because we see it as rude. it is part of our culture." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.