“I Still Remember Your Dive” – Jamie Carragher Gets Into Banter With Ex-Premier League Star Over Controversial VAR Decisions

The arrival of VAR in the Premier League has featured a lot of debates and discussions among fans and experts. The latest controversy came up to the plate during Arsenal’s visit to St. James’ Park. With Newcastle United winning the game, the VAR debacle led to further disagreements. And more banter! Former Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher argued with another former Premier League star to question the quality of refereeing.

Carragher, who has been critical of VAR for some time, has now opened up about decisions about fouls. On the other hand, the former Stoke City player was against Carragher’s opinion, leading to a friendly spat on social media.

Jamie Carragher and former rival bantered regarding refereeing decisions

The match between Arsenal and Newcastle did not involve just one controversy. Apart from the given goal, the referee had to intervene for nasty fouls between the two teams. Consequently, Carragher and Jonathan Walters had different opinions, which led the former UEFA Champions League winner to say that Walters was diving for a penalty.

Carragher said, “I still remember your dive for a penalty against me at Stoke.”

The discussion was initiated due to Jamie Carragher’s belief that issuing red cards to Bruno Guimaraes and Kai Havertz for their fouls would have been unjust. Walters, on the other hand, disagreed with the former defender, saying both deserved a red card for their fouls. After stating that Guimaraes used his forearm and not his elbow, Carragher pointed out that it was not that severe, and players get emotional like how Walters dived against him.

Moreover, Walters claimed that the forearm was equally dangerous as the elbow and should have received the foul. However, Carragher did not oblige but took an older analogy to explain the former Irish player. In the end, Carragher and Walter agreed that the aim should be to avoid giving red cards unnecessarily, using the VAR.

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VAR and soccer proving to be a tight affair!

It was not the first time games were filled with VAR controversies. Earlier this season, VAR wrongly chalked off Liverpool’s goal in their match against Tottenham Hotspur. Similarly, Al Nassr’s goal was denied by the VAR when the referee mistook an opponent player for Cristiano Ronaldo, which deemed him offside.

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Carragher earlier took on Arsenal, asking them not to blame the VAR for their lack of firepower. He stated that David Raya was a problem for Arsenal and should improve his positioning in matches. Even though there are mixed opinions about the VAR, few experts believe the technology is here to stay. Do you agree with it?