- Jack Grealish thought he had drawn England level against North Macedonia
- But the Manchester City star had his goal disallowed for offside after a long check
- Trent and Bellingham can play together, but not get in each other’s way – IAKO
The VAR offside decision that denied Jack Grealish a goal for England in Monday’s European Championship qualifier against North Macedonia has been slammed by Dion Dublin over the time it took to complete the review.
England were denied an equalizer early in the second half when Grealish arrived at the back post and tucked Bukayo Saka’s beautifully crafted cross past the goalkeeper.
However, while replays quickly showed to the naked eye that Grealish was clearly offside, VAR began what quickly turned into a ridiculously long check.
Dublin were furious that the VAR check had lasted ‘three minutes’ and blasted the match officials for the ‘crazy’ check that ultimately denied Gareth Southgate’s side the opening goal.
‘Offside or offside, you can see that with your eyes. It shouldn’t take this long,” Dublin said in a commentary for Channel 4.
Jack Grealish thought he had scored England’s equalizer against North Macedonia before the match was ruled out for offside
Dion Dublin was furious at the length of the VAR check that denied Grealish a goal on Monday
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‘Yes, it’s offside, but it can’t take three minutes before you see that it’s offside. It’s crazy, it should take 15 seconds. Put the ball down and continue the game.”
England finally equalized in the 59th minute, just seconds after Harry Kane made his introduction from the substitutes’ bench.
The Three Lions captain caused panic in a crowded penalty area, allowing North Macedonia’s corner to be turned into the net by own defender Jani Atanasov.
However, the offside decision was not the only questionable decision during the match that left England frustrated with referee calls and opposition play.
Referee Filip Glova disallowed the goal after England refused a lengthy VAR check
Rico Lewis gave away a first-half penalty on his England debut after being adjudged to have fouled Bojan Miovski in the penalty area.
Dublin on that occasion again criticized the VAR intervention that led to the eventual goal, as did Joe Cole who berated referee Filip Glova for trying to be the ‘star of the show’.
England dominated but could not find a winning goal in Skopje, but claimed a valuable point and claimed top spot in their European Championship qualifying group.
The Three Lions will advance to next year’s European Championship in Germany as a seeded group team, having won six matches, drawn twice and finished qualifying unbeaten.
