A number of Southampton fans have agreed with comments made by BBC Sport pundit Ian Wright on the controversial VAR handball decisions which went against the Saints in their 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Sunday.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side endured another miserable afternoon in the Premier League as they failed to emulate their success at Wolves in the FA Cup from last week. The Saints took the lead through an excellent effort from Danny Ings, his 30th goal since the start of last season. However, the visitors bounced back and inflicted a sixth straight league defeat on Southampton for the first time in their history.
Wolves were afforded the chance to get themselves back on level terms when Ryan Bertrand was controversially penalised for handball after Nelson Semedo’s effort struck his hand whilst he had turned to try and block the effort on goal. Ruben Neves converted the spot kick and that ultimately proved to be a game-changing moment.
The Saints felt even more aggrieved when they were not awarded a penalty at the other end for a similar incident when Leander Dendoncker appeared to handle a cross from Stuart Armstrong, and Hasenhuttl was understandably furious about the decisions after the game.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Wright suggested that the Saints had been hard done by in terms of the decisions made by the officials. He also called on them to be given a much-needed break from referees given the poor run of form they are enduring at the moment.
"Southampton need the officials to get it right for them, they need a break."#bbcfootball #MOTD2 pic.twitter.com/I5ZcpM4I3P
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) February 14, 2021
Southampton fans react to Wright’s comments on VAR decisions
Many Southampton fans were in complete agreement with Wright, with some praising the pundit for speaking out against the officials for their role in the defeat to Wolves.
Honeslty couldn't agree more even though I did think bertrands was handball… but everyone has there opinion https://t.co/IdTcCpymVF
— Lendy (@Lendy424) February 15, 2021
Yes @IanWright0. All we ask for is consistency. Best league in the world, most incompetent officiating. https://t.co/YkxwijDy8D
— Andy Yeandle (@AndyYeandle) February 15, 2021
Well said Wrighty https://t.co/pVx2qh759x
— JL (@JamieSFCx) February 15, 2021
Thanks for cheering me up @IanWright0 I've been ranting & raging about this since the game earlier & this made me laugh. I'd kind of get it if we didn't have VAR but VAR was meant to stop this from happening 🤦 that one decision changed the dynamic of the game #motd2 https://t.co/vXEgHXWl2t
— Zoe Burnham (@ZoeBarnes94) February 15, 2021
This! Agree we’ve been playing some good stuff of late, need a break soon! But there needs to be a consistency across the board with the officials #saintsfc https://t.co/f00o9f9fkl
— Alex Cosgrove (@cozza933) February 14, 2021
I’ve always loved Ian Wright 😊 he’s spot on here 👏🏻👏🏻 #SaintsFC https://t.co/jbbiR1dYFw
— Alisha Warwick (@AlishaW1709) February 14, 2021
👏 the officials/VAR have costed us now the last 2/3 games 🤬🤬 https://t.co/pWu0sf6TET
— George Williams (@gmwilliams__) February 14, 2021
We have been shafted by VAR in every single premier league game these past few weeks. No consistency
— Will Mitchell (@WillsfcMitchell) February 15, 2021
