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Hodgson defends VAR after FA Cup trial

Hodgson defends VAR after FA Cup trial

Roy Hodgson has defended VAR after his side was knocked out in the FA Cup by Brighton.
 
The Crystal Palace Coach said that disallowing Glenn Murray’s late winner would have been “harsh”, even though the striker looked to have handled the ball.
 
The Fourth Round FA Cup tie is the first to have used Video technology.
 
Though the goal wasn’t subjected to a VAR review, Hodgson said that “it was a genuine goal. And the referee was helped by the fact he had Swarbrick in the VAR studio [in west London] making a judgement that'd help him out - so I have no complaints."
 
Though the Eagles have recovered in the Premier League, Brighton are traditional opponents of theirs (originally because of a controversial FA Cup game, believe it or not), and the loss has rankled with many South Londoners.
 
Yet Hodgson, a former two-time Coach at Inter, said that "there's still a slight thought it might just have brushed off his arm into the goal, but if it'd been my player scoring that goal, I'd have been very upset if it had been disallowed for handball."
 
VAR has been an interesting addition to Serie A, and has come under scrutiny recently as it was not used when Federico Bernardeschi handled the ball in the box in a close 1-0 win over Cagliari.