{"id":127192,"date":"2023-12-04T13:23:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T13:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/12\/04\/the-var-on-duty-for-man-city-vs-tottenham\/"},"modified":"2023-12-04T13:23:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T13:23:57","slug":"the-var-on-duty-for-man-city-vs-tottenham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/12\/04\/the-var-on-duty-for-man-city-vs-tottenham\/","title":{"rendered":"The VAR on duty for Man City vs Tottenham \u2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The legendary Brazilian playwright and sportswriter Nelson Rodrigues was not impressed with the advent of televised matches.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf the videotape shows it\u2019s a penalty then all the worse for the videotape,\u201d he once famously said. \u201cThe videotape is stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Premier League\u2019s fleet of video assistant referees (VAR) doesn\u2019t subscribe to the same distrust of technology as Rodrigues. That would certainly make Robert Jones\u2019 job an awful lot harder when he plops himself down in front of the monitor for Manchester City\u2019s Premier League meeting with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon \u2013 a fixture that has been repeatedly\u00a0dominated by VAR.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the official trusting the tape this weekend.<\/p>\n

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Robert Jones\u2019 2023\/24 Premier League matches as VAR<\/h2>\n
\"Ollie<\/figure>\n

Robert Jones judged the tangle between Crystal Palace\u2019s Chris Richards and Aston Villa\u2019s Ollie Watkins to be a foul in September \/ Matthew Lewis\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Date<\/th>\nResult<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
12\/08\/23<\/td>\nBrighton 4-1 Luton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
26\/08\/23<\/td>\nMan Utd 3-2 Nottingham Forest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16\/09\/23<\/td>\nAston Villa 3-1 Crystal Palace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
30\/09\/23<\/td>\nWolves 2-1 Man City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11\/11\/23<\/td>\nMan Utd 1-0 Luton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
25\/11\/23<\/td>\nLuton 2-1 Crystal Palace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

After Nottingham Forest\u2019s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in August, a game in which the visitors ceded a two-goal lead thanks to a red card and penalty, Steve Cooper admitted that he had to \u201cbite his tongue\u201d when discussing the refereeing team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn games like this you need things to be how they should,\u201d the Forest boss fumed. \u201cI am not going to talk too much as I don\u2019t want to get into trouble but I was surprised how quickly the decisions were made.\u201d<\/p>\n

After being pulled up for a cursory glance at incidents, Jones was criticised for his delayed decision to award\u00a0Aston Villa\u00a0a stoppage-time penalty against Crystal Palace in September. Palace\u2019s assistant manager Paddy McCarthy was adamant that Chris Richards didn\u2019t touch Ollie Watkins, arguing: \u201cIf it takes five minutes to make a decision, that tells you everything you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Robert Jones\u2019 record as VAR in Man City games<\/h2>\n
\"Bailey<\/figure>\n

Bailey Peacock-Farrell was spared the ignominy of an own goal against Manchester City by Robert Jones \/ Michael Regan\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n
Club<\/th>\nGames<\/th>\nWins<\/th>\nDraws<\/th>\nLosses<\/th>\nRed cards for & against<\/th>\nPenalties for & against<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Man City<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0:0<\/td>\n0:0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Jones has only overseen two\u00a0Manchester City\u00a0matches from the video booth. On his first appointment, the Merseyside-born official spared the blushes of Burnley goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell by ruling out an own goal after spotting that Gabriel Jesus had narrowly strayed offside in the buildup. Yet, Jones could do nothing about the five legal goals Burnley had already conceded.<\/p>\n

However, Jones is no good-luck charm for Pep Guardiola\u2019s side. The champions lost their 100% start to the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 2-1 defeat overseen by Jones in September. A rare reverse for City was the result of Gary O\u2019Neil\u2019s careful planning and the remarkable running power of Pedro Neto rather than any controversial decisions made by Jones.<\/p>\n

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Robert Jones\u2019 record as VAR in Tottenham games<\/h2>\n
\"Robert<\/figure>\n

Robert Jones was directed to the monitor for Tottenham\u2019s season opener against Brentford \/ Julian Finney\/GettyImages<\/p>\n

Ange Postecoglou is not a big fan of VAR. \u201cI don\u2019t like it but I am probably in the wilderness with that because I keep getting told that\u2019s where we want to go,\u201d the Spurs boss admitted earlier this season. \u201cI am too old school, I\u2019ll respect the referee\u2019s decision right or wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones is yet to disappoint Postecoglou\u2019s traditional tendencies, with Sunday\u2019s contest his first Tottenham game from Stockley Park.<\/p>\n

As an on-pitch official, Jones has taken charge of five Spurs matches in his career, including three this season which Tottenham have failed to win (D2 L1). Jones was ordered over to the pitch-side monitor during the club\u2019s season opener against Brentford and the north London derby draw with Arsenal but got all of his VAR-assisted decisions right by general consensus.<\/p>\n

Jones also oversaw\u00a0Tottenham\u2019s 2-1 reverse against Aston Villa\u00a0last weekend. Matty Cash got away with a heavy challenge on Rodrigo Bentancur in that recent clash but Jones avoided controversy elsewhere.<\/p>\n

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