Wayne Rooney says referees are over-reliant on VAR
By Jamie Gardner, Press Association Chief Sports Reporter
Wayne Rooney believes errors made during the Aston Villa v Newcastle FA Cup tie at the weekend show there is an over-reliance on VAR.
Referee Chris Kavanagh and his assistants Gary Beswick and Nick Greenhalgh were criticised for their performance during the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Villa Park.
They failed to spot Tammy Abraham was offside for Villa’s opening goal, missed a shin-high tackle by Villa full-back Lucas Digne on Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy which could have warranted a straight red and then gave a free-kick for a handball by Digne even though he was clearly inside the penalty area at the time.
Rooney described the handball call as “one of the worst decisions he had ever seen”, in his role as one of the BBC’s pundits for the live broadcast of the tie on Saturday evening.
Justice for Newcastle? ⚫⚪
The Magpies wanted a penalty, but Sandro Tonali eventually scores anyway from the resulting free-kick! ⚽ pic.twitter.com/tADr63R6aC— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 14, 2026
Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Show podcast subsequently, he added: “I think there’s over-reliance on VAR.
“And unfortunately, now the officials are used to that and where they’ve been getting their help and it’s been getting them out of jail at times or they’re waiting for that to make the decision.
“With no VAR they have to make the decision and they’re probably used to keeping the flag down and that’s what’s cost the decisions, yesterday.
“No one’s denying it’s very difficult job to do, I think that’s where the referees need some help and they’ve been getting it obviously from VAR and not to have that now…”
Rooney said the handball error was comparable with the failure to award goals to Frank Lampard and Pedro Mendes in 2010 and 2005 respectively when the ball had clearly crossed the line.
“I feel like the linesman was in a very good position to see if the referee missed it,” he added on the podcast.
"There were probably two other decisions as bad."
Wayne Rooney can only think of two high-profile incidents where the referee has made an error as big as Chris Kavanagh's on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/lTVnZU96xU— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 16, 2026
“I just thought it was a very strange decision and it’s a mistake and I’m sure the officials today will be disappointed. But it was a really bad decision, I felt.”
Former Premier League referee Graham Scott, who was a guest on the podcast, said he did not think it was fair to say referees were hiding behind VAR.
“Obviously I work with them closely and I know these guys and they’re not like that,” he said.
“It’s not how their minds work, not how their processes work. I spent half my career with VAR and half without it, the other way around of course, without it first.
“And then when I was in the Premier League I was still dropping into the Championship quite often. So you’re in and out, in and out. And your processes essentially stay the same.”
Sunderland coach Regis Le Bris also claimed Kavanagh had admitted to him he made a mistake by failing to award the Black Cats a penalty against Liverpool on February 11th.
Kavanagh and his assistants will discover at 4pm on Monday whether they have been assigned Premier League games this weekend.
VAR will be used in the FA Cup from the fifth round onwards.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said after Saturday’s match: “I think there’s an argument to say that, because when VAR is there, there’s always a (thought of), ‘well, I won’t give that, but let’s check it’.
“And I think then your decision-making maybe isn’t as sharp as it may normally have to be, so maybe there’s a difference there.”
Top-flight referees are very much encouraged to back themselves in their on-field decisions.
The Premier League has the lowest VAR intervention rate of any major European competition and works on the principle that unless a subjective decision is clearly and obviously wrong, the referee’s call on-field should stand.
