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VAR overturns Bournemouth's equalizer and instead awards a penalty to Burnley (video)

Bournemouth's Harry Wilson had his apparent equalizer disallowed in Saturday's 3-0 loss to Burnley. (Phil Noble/Reuters)
Bournemouth's Harry Wilson had his apparent equalizer disallowed in Saturday's 3-0 loss to Burnley. (Phil Noble/Reuters)

Shortly after falling behind on a second-half goal by Burnley’s Matej Vydra, Bournemouth thought they had scored a well-worked equalizer.

Then VAR controversially intervened for the umpteenth time this Premier League season, ruling out Harry Wilson’s strike and instead awarding a penalty to the hosts for a phantom handball en route to their 3-0 win.

It was the second time in the match that the Cherries had a goal called back by the VAR, but this one felt particularly unjust. After review, the officials determined that Adam Smith had handled the ball in his own box. It seemed an overly harsh decision, and as a consequence, not only was the goal was taken away but Burnley was awarded a penalty that was converted by Jay Rodriguez, effectively ending any chance the visitors had to rally.

The call came just hours after the Premier League’s VAR apparatus admitted that it had botched its review of a challenge by Tottenham midfielder Giovanni Lo Celso, who was somehow allowed to stay on the field despite driving his studs into the leg of Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta.

The decision at Turf Moor, Burnley’s home stadium, drew some of the harshest criticism of VAR yet, and that’s really saying something.

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