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Another Bad Week For Premier League Referees

The calamities piled up this weekend.

The standard of refereeing in the world's best soccer league has been called in to question again, after another week of poor decisions and questionable calls.


I counted at least six bad calls this weekend alone. All of which involved VAR, and showed the officials got it all wrong. Here's what I, and many other Premier League fans saw:


1. Thiago Silva's dive

Harry Kane though he had given Tottenham Hotspur the lead during the first half of their London derby against Chelsea on Sunday.


Having controlled a cross, Kane slotted the ball past Chelsea's keeper only to then be penalized for a push on Thiago Silva.


As you can see above, the England captain put his hand on the back of the Chelsea defender, who then put on his best attempt to win an academy award, falling dramatically to the floor.


Some however believe the foul should have been given.


2. Ashley Westwood's stamp

Burnley were lucky to keep 11 men on the pitch Sunday during their goalless draw at the Emirates against Arsenal.


After being beaten to a loose ball by the Gunners' Kieran Tierney, Westwood failed to pull out of his attempted challenge and caught the Scottish full-back half way up his leg with his studs.


Westwood was first shown just a yellow card for the foul before it went to a VAR review.


Somehow the VAR review agreed with the on-field decision and Westwood avoided being sent off.


3. Stuart Armstrong's dangerous tackle

Another player fortunate to only get a yellow card was Southampton's Stuart Armstrong during Saturday's draw with Manchester City.


Armstrong attempted to challenge Aymeric Laporte - missing the ball entirely and raking his studs down Laporte's thigh instead.


The ref gave him a yellow, and VAR agreed with the decision.


After the match, Laporte posted a pic showing the result of the tackle. Looks more red than yellow.

4. Matt Doherty somehow avoids a red card

Back to the Spurs, Chelsea match - where Matt Doherty avoided a red card for a challenge on Malang Sarr.


The Irishman challenged Sarr as he played the ball out of defense, catching him with a studs up tackle that resulted in him stamping on Sarr's shin.


Forget not getting a yellow card - the ref said play on! VAR somehow agreed.

5. Diogo Jota penalty


Perhaps the most controversial decision of the weekend...


Liverpool were just about beating Crystal Palace when Diogo Jota went down in the penalty area after colliding with Vicente Guaita.


Palace were given a goal kick initially after the challenge before a VAR review resulted in a penalty being awarded.


Replays of the incident further added to the anger at the decision, as it appeared Jota moved into the onrushing Palace keeper in order to initiate the contact.


Fabinho stepped up to score the resulting penalty and killed off any hopes of a comeback for the Eagles, leaving fans, and the manager in utter disbelief.

6. Allan Saint-Maximin denied a penalty


Last but not least, Newcastle United fans can't be blamed for feeling as if the refs were inconsistent this week after watching Jota get a penalty in the Liverpool game. Their own Allan Saint-Maximin wasn't given the same favor in their win over Leeds on Saturday.


The French winger went down inside the area under a challenge from Robin Koch, but, despite VAR review, the decision remained as no penalty.

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