Slot’s frustration over VAR double standards
When a manager speaks with the calm of a schoolmaster but the bite of a columnist, people tend to listen. After Manchester United’s meeting with Wolves at Old Trafford, Arne Slot did just that, drawing attention to what he sees as glaring inconsistency in VAR decisions — particularly the contrast between Lacroix’s red card against Man Utd at Old Trafford and the absence of punishment for Marc Guéhi when he pulled Mohamed Salah back against Manchester City.
Slot’s argument was not a rant. It was clinical. Precise. And deeply uncomfortable for the Premier League’s officiating establishment.
“The only difference is that Mo was pulled by the shirt and here was a hand on the shoulder,” he said, referencing the two incidents.
Those words came from his pre-match Wolves press conference, an original source that framed his wider complaint about VAR. Slot was not arguing tribal loyalty; he was asking for coherence.
Lacroix red card sparks renewed VAR scrutiny
Maxence Lacroix’s dismissal at Old Trafford was swift, clinical and decisive. The kind of decision VAR insists it gets right. Yet Slot sees a troubling precedent when comparing it to Guéhi’s tug on Salah that escaped punishment.
“The moment when I saw it live I thought, knowing what has happened with us in that situation, VAR is probably checking if it is even a penalty or if it’s in or outside the box, but he will never ever give a red card for this.”
Football supporters understand that referees are human. What they struggle with is selective precision. VAR was sold as a technological solution to human error. Instead, it has created a new category of doubt — errors explained away with jargon.
“This is what I sometimes hold against VAR, because every time when the Premier League comes in they tell me there were only two wrong decisions over a whole season. But I hold this against VAR.”
Slot’s point is less about Liverpool grievance and more about institutional credibility. If Lacroix’s red card is correct, why is Guéhi’s not? If Guéhi’s is correct, why was Lacroix dismissed? Football fans can handle mistakes. They cannot handle selective logic.
Guehi incident leaves fans baffled
In isolation, Guéhi pulling Salah against Manchester City might look like routine grappling. Football is full of it. But context matters. Consistency matters. Slot insists this is where VAR collapses under scrutiny.
“In both situations the referee did not give a red card and in one situation they overturned it to a red card. That is for me either one of the two is a mistake. So when you come in at the end of the season you have to say, ‘OK, we made more than only one or two mistakes.’”
There is an honesty in that sentiment that football rarely hears. Managers are conditioned to deflect, to protect players, to avoid fines. Slot did none of that. Instead, he challenged a system that claims near perfection while producing weekly confusion.
Bigger picture for Premier League refereeing
Slot also acknowledged football’s ultimate truth — teams must win despite officiating. But his closing remarks carried the weight of someone who understands the league’s integrity depends on trust.
“This was for me a red card because I said so many times it was clear for me that the one from Quansah is a red card as well. But I wasn’t backed up by everyone.”
“I’ve said also many times we have to make sure that we don’t depend on these decisions. We’re better than that. We just win our games by being so good that even if decisions go against you — which sometimes happens in football — you make sure it doesn’t hurt you.”
It is a noble sentiment. Yet football is not played in a vacuum. Points lost to inconsistent VAR decisions can decide titles, relegations and careers. That is why Lacroix’s red card at Old Trafford and the lack of sanction for Guéhi’s pull on Salah resonate far beyond one weekend.
Slot did not shout. He did not accuse. He simply compared two moments and asked a fair question. Until VAR can answer it convincingly, suspicion will linger — in dressing rooms, in press boxes, and in every pub where football is still argued with passion and disbelief.
