Eddie Howe says referees are too reliant on VAR after making 'lots of errors' in Newcastle win against Aston Villa
Eddie Howe has said referees are too reliant on VAR after three major errors during the FA Cup win against Aston Villa; Tammy Abraham's opener stood despite being offside, Lucas Digne avoided a red card and a penalty for a clear handball in the area; Unai Emery said referees need VAR
Saturday 14 February 2026 23:20, UK
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe believes referees have become too reliant on VAR after "a lot of errors" in its absence during his side's 3-1 FA Cup win at 10-man Aston Villa.
VAR will not be used until the fifth round onwards, with referee Chris Kavanagh and his assistant referees seemingly getting at least three major decisions wrong in a blundering performance at Villa Park, which could easily have cost the Magpies.
Tammy Abraham's opening goal for Villa was clearly offside, Kavanagh failed to send Lucas Digne off for a shin-high tackle on Jacob Murphy and then the worst decision of all came after the break when Kavanagh and assistant referee Nick Greenhalgh ruled Digne's handball to be outside the area when it was at least three yards inside.
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The one major decision Kavanagh got right was to send Villa goalkeeper Marco Bizot off for taking out Murphy near the centre-circle and that gave Newcastle a platform to fight back against 10 men in the second half.
Sandro Tonali scored in the attack following the free-kick, which should have been a penalty, then added a second with a sweet strike from distance before Nick Woltemade wrapped up the win at the end.
Howe says VAR has given referees something to hide behind.
"I think there's an argument to say that, because when VAR is there, there's always a, 'Well, I won't give that, but let's check it'," he said.
"And I think then your decision-making maybe isn't as sharp as it may normally have to be, so maybe there's a difference there.
"I'm always torn on VAR. I said this many times because I still love the emotion, even tonight, when a goal is given and you don't see a flag or a referee, it's a goal, and no one's going to take it away from you.
"That joy that you get in that moment, I still really love and VAR takes it away. But then on the other side, I was wishing there was VAR on the first goal against us, and probably throughout that game.
"I think it does give accurate results. It does make the game more concise in terms of decision-making and those moments, you have to respect that they're worth their weight in gold, especially for us today, when we're on the wrong side of it.
"So I'm still very much torn on it.
"The officials don't make any [wrong] decision on purpose. It's what they think at the time. But without VAR, I thought there was a lot of errors."
Sky Sports News have approached the PGMOL for comment on Howe's criticism.
Emery: Referees need VAR
On February 1, Villa boss Unai Emery said VAR was "unfair" after it cruelly intervened to deny a goal they scored in a Premier League defeat to Brentford.
But the Spaniard admitted that referees need the help of VAR when asked about the officiating of Saturday's FA Cup tie against Newcastle.
"Today, VAR makes sense. VAR is necessary to help the referees," Emery added.
"We played a very competitive match. I was so, so happy about us in the first half. With the red card, and Newcastle scoring, it was more difficult for us."
