“Bizarre”, barks Dyche: five‑second VAR fix demanded after Forest 2-2 Man United
Trust Sean Dyche to cut through the waffle. After Nottingham Forest and Manchester United shared a 2-2, the gravel-voiced gaffer branded the key officiating moment “bizarre” and demanded a common-sense reboot of VAR: if the ball is in or out, sort it in seconds and move on.
The flashpoint that lit the fuse
The opener arrived amid controversy, with a corner awarded in the build-up that left Forest fuming over whether the ball had actually gone out of play. Replays suggested it was still on the line, but there was no swift intervention from the technology. United took advantage, and the tone of the afternoon shifted.
Forest, to their credit, clawed back the deficit and even nosed in front before Amad Diallo’s late leveller salvaged a point for the visitors. Enter Dyche, who couldn’t believe such a basic check took so long — or, in practical terms, didn’t happen decisively enough.
Dyche’s verdict: VAR should be a five-second fix
Dyche’s stance was crystal. He’s not anti-VAR; he’s anti-faff. Objective calls — ball in or out, black-or-white stuff — should be handled in a heartbeat. In his view, you don’t need minutes of multi-angle chin-scratching. One look, five seconds, correct the on-field call and carry on. For a league with so much at stake, that’s the bare minimum.
He was also irked at the familiar post-match script: another weekend, another debate about process rather than football. Managers and fans alike want accuracy delivered quickly, not a courtroom drama every time the ball brushes a chalk line.
Forest’s fightback, United’s rescue, and the bigger picture
The football itself had plenty going for it — Forest’s resilience after falling behind, United’s composure to nick a late draw through Diallo — but the narrative inevitably orbited the officiating. When a technicality overshadows the contest, you know the system needs tidying.
What needs to change
There’s a simple fix the authorities should entertain: empower the VAR team to overrule restarts tied to immediate goal situations with a rapid, factual “in/out” confirmation; set hard time limits for checks; and, crucially, communicate clearly so everyone in the ground knows what’s been decided and why. Give fans transparency and give referees decisive support.
For those keeping an eye on the odds and the form lines, our hub of best betting sites is a handy companion — but the only numbers Forest will care about are the points that slipped through their fingers. Clean up the process, and we can all get back to arguing about tactics rather than touchline tape-measures.
Dyche’s message is hard to ignore: when the technology exists to fix the simple stuff, use it quickly. Five seconds, job done, and let the football breathe.
