Directors Hee-chan Hwang and Gary O'Neill

Wolverhampton (England) coach Gary O'Neill, in which Hwang Hee-chan plays, said of the controversial decision following video review (VAR), "It is having a huge impact on my reputation, the club, and people's livelihoods." He was furious.

After finishing the 13th round away game against Fulham in the 2023-2024 English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) on the 28th (Korean time), Coach O'Neill told Sky Sports, "I think the referee (Michael Salisbury) made a mistake, and he looked at the problem through the monitor (in the stadium). “I confessed that I should have checked the scene,” he said.

Wolverhampton lost 2-3, with Korean national team striker Hwang Hee-chan scoring his 7th league goal, but conceding only two penalty kicks.

In the 10th minute of the second half when the game was tied 1-1, Tom Cairney fell after competing with Nelson Semedo in the penalty area, and the Salisbury referee immediately declared a penalty kick.

On the video screen analyzing this scene, Semedo was captured touching the ball in contention with his toe before Cairney fell.

However, the Salisbury referee, who communicated remotely with the VAR room, did not check the scene again through the stadium monitor and awarded a penalty kick to Fulham.

Director Gary O'Neill

Coach O'Neill said directly, "It was the ball that Semedo touched, not Cairney," and "(VAR) is not helpful at all."

“I have always supported VAR, but now (VAR) is causing problems,” he said. “Today (through a penalty kick) we gave up two goals, and from my perspective, VAR plays a role in helping (the referee’s) subjective judgment.” “I can’t do it. I think my stance on VAR has probably been reversed today,” he said regretfully.

According to AFP, Fulham coach Marco Silva also said that Joao Gomez's (Wolverhampton) foul in the penalty box during extra time in the second half was definitely a penalty kick, but regarding the first penalty kick given by Semedo, "a foul was declared relatively easily." He admitted.

Coach Silva added, “I hope VAR can make the right decision and do its job.”

According to the British BBC, Liverpool (England) defender and Sky Sports commentator Jamie Carragher commented on the scene where a foul was called against Semedo, saying it was "too harsh a decision." 19가이드03