The Football Association has attributed the record eight-minute VAR stoppage during Bournemouth’s FA Cup win over Wolves to congestion in the penalty area, which prevented the use of the newly introduced semi-automated offside technology.
Officials had to manually draw offside lines before disallowing Milos Kerkez’s goal, ruling that Dean Huijsen was offside as the ball glanced off his shoulder.
Compounding the delay, VAR also conducted two separate handball checks before reaching a final decision.
Frustrated fans from both sides voiced their discontent, chanting “this is embarrassing” and “it’s not football anymore” as the review dragged on.
Meanwhile, players took the opportunity to warm up while referee Sam Barrott updated managers on the situation.
The incident overshadowed the debut of semi-automated offsides in England, which was expected to speed up decisions by about 30 seconds.
While the system functioned smoothly in Aston Villa’s tie against Cardiff, the FA clarified that manual crosshair drawing remains a backup option in cases where multiple players obstruct the automated system’s view.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown slammed the lengthy review, calling it “outrageous” and “ridiculous.”
Despite the setback, the Premier League remains on course to introduce the technology later this season following its FA Cup trials.
