Steven Davis says VAR is helping hand game needs after Southampton are denied win

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s last-minute equaliser for Watford came courtesy of his right hand
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s last-minute equaliser for Watford came courtesy of his right hand Credit: Reuters

Steven Davis, the Northern Ireland and Southampton captain, says he is now a firm believer in the importance of video assistant referees after twice seeing crucial and controversial handball decisions go against him while representing club and country.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s last-minute equaliser for Watford, courtesy of his right hand, denied Southampton a hard-earned victory at Vicarage Road and would surely have been ruled out by referee Roger East had the VAR been in operation for this fixture.

The incident came just days after Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan spoke of the “worst mistake of my life” which saw him award a penalty for Switzerland in the World Cup play-off with Northern Ireland last November even though a goal-bound shot had hit midfielder Corry Evans’s shoulder rather than his arm.

“I was never a great advocate of it before but when it happened in a game of that magnitude, in an international game where a small nation like ourselves had a chance to go a World Cup, that was ultimately the decision that cost going there,” Davis said. “It makes you think differently about the situation.

James Ward-Prowse scored Southampton's second against Watford
James Ward-Prowse scored Southampton's second against Watford Credit: Reuters

“Clearly the Watford goal shouldn’t have stood; it’s a big decision to go against us in the position we’re in. It’s difficult to accept. You need decisions to go for you when you’re in the position that we are and I thought at the time it was handball and, having seen it again, it was definitely handball. They’re never going to be honest about it. Everybody is fighting for every point that they can get.

“We all know referees have got a difficult job but in games of magnitude and importance you need those decisions to go for you.

“It’ll even out, everyone says it does but I don’t think we’ve had too much luck this season in all honesty. But hopefully now and the remaining games we will get that bit of luck.”

VAR screen
VAR was trialled during Brighton's FA Cup clash with Palace Credit: PA

The Football Association has already trialled VAR in the FA Cup and will do so again this week in the third-round replays between Leicester and Fleetwood and Chelsea and Norwich. The Doucoure controversy and Swansea’s anger that they were denied a penalty in the first half at Newcastle on Saturday, also for handball, has only served to add to the clamour for the greater use of the technology.

Andy Ambler, director of professional game relations at the FA, said: “We have always been open to trialling new innovations and were heavily involved in the advancement of goal-line technology before it was introduced.” However, the FA has no power to influence how the Premier League might use it.

The afternoon had started well for Southampton who looked set to record their first victory since November after two strikes from James Ward-Prowse put them two up at half-time.

But Watford were much improved after the break and heaped pressure on the visitors after Andre Gray had pulled a goal back, culminating in Doucoure’s late intervention, which prevented Marco Silva’s side from slipping to a seventh defeat in their last eight matches.

Southampton complain about Watford's controversial equaliser
Southampton complain about Watford's controversial equaliser Credit: Getty Images

“There’s been a lot of talk about the VAR system this week and whether that is something that can help eradicate those sort of things – we’ll have to wait and see,” said Ward-Prowse. “At first it didn’t look like handball. From my position it’s hard to see his right arm but having seen it again in the changing room it’s clear,” added the midfielder.

Southampton perhaps played a part in their own demise, sitting back in the second half after taking the game to Watford had proved so effective in the first.

“I can’t give the ball away in that area for the first goal,” admitted Davis. “We seem to be getting punished for those errors we’re making. You know you’ll come under pressure for a period of the game. They went quite direct and picked up second balls and changed their style of play in the game. It was a difficult second half for us.

“There are some positives to take – we played really well in the first half. The second half, we have to learn from that again. I’m sick of saying it all the time that we need to learn from it. We need to go out and show it. The lads dug in during the second half and you need those decisions to go for you.”

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