Alan Shearer nails it with VAR theory after "shockers" during Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle

Not since the infamous game between Aston Villa and Sheffield United in 2020, when the Hawkeye technology failed to see a goal clearly go over the line, has one match emphasised the importance of having the presence of VAR in every game.

On that day, Villa were the beneficiaries as the point gained in the 0-0 draw eventually kept them in the Premier League at the expense of Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth.

And it could have been a similar situation in Saturday’s FA Cup clash where Howe and Newcastle United were subject to some truly horrendous refereeing calls that simply wouldn’t have happened if VAR was present.

Fans, pundits, and neutrals alike are all in agreement over how poor the officiating was on Saturday night, and Alan Shearer has launched some particularly scathing criticism on the state of the officials’ performances.

Shearer: VAR exposing refereeing problem?

Speaking after the game on the BBC, Alan Shearer called out referee Chris Kavanagh and the linesmen at Villa Park for failing to do their job properly, despite us eventually coming back to win 3-1 and progress to the fifth round of the competition.

Discussing two instances, Lucas Digne’s nasty tackle on Jacob Murphy that should’ve been a red card, and the Frenchman’s later handball in the box that was judged to be outside the box, Shearer feels the game showed that officials had become too reliant on VAR to bail them out or justify their decisions.

“I think for five or six months, they’ve been reliant on VAR. And they’re coming into this situation now and it all changes. Similar thing with the Lucas Digne tackle, I think that’s a red card as well, if it goes to VAR.

“In their defence, which is hard for me at this moment in time, they’re having VAR for five or six months, then having a huge game without it, so it is very different for them.

"There is no excuse for the assistant (linesman) not to see that. He's 15 yards away. Goodness me. If you ever needed any evidence of the damage VAR has done to the referees, today is a great example.

“These guys looked petrified to make a decision today, because they didn’t have a comfort blanket (of VAR) and that’s the damage that it’s done to the officials. And for me, they’re actually getting worse because I really don’t think that is a difficult decision at all.

“And at this standard, that has to be given. There’s no excuse for the assistant not to tell his referee he’s got that totally wrong. I would just like the officials to do their job properly, that’s all. It’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

I think Shearer is bang on. Referees have become too reliant on VAR, and it showed yesterday. They aren't used to making decisions and when it's on them (and only them) to get big calls right, it's like they've forgotten how to do their job.

"One of the worst I've ever seen" - Wayne Rooney

Speaking alongside Shearer on the Digne handball incident, Wayne Rooney has labelled the decision not to award us a penalty as THE worst refereeing call he's ever seen in football.

"That decision is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in football because at no stage was Digne out of the penalty box, and I think he’s three or four yards inside the penalty box.

"The linesman is just in front of us and you can clearly see how much he is in the penalty box.

“And to not give that decision, the referee looked like he blew and it looked like he was listening to someone in his ears. So I’m assuming the fault of the linesman is give that decision, and it’s an absolute shocker."

VAR will be in action for our fifth round tie and the rest of the competition, as is protocol. However, semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) will only be available at St James’ Park and other Premier League grounds, so we would be without it if we travelled to League One side Mansfield Town.

🗣️Wayne Rooney on BBC: "That decision is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in football because at no stage was Digne out of the penalty box."pic.twitter.com/RsQVKfFvJj

— Dominic Scurr (@DomScurr) February 14, 2026