Wolves fans set to stage VAR protest
Wolves supporters are planning a major protest against VAR for this month’s Premier League match with Nottingham Forest.
Fan group Old Gold Pack intend to distribute thousands of placards and are making banners ahead of the game on December 9, where they intend to voice their displeasure after seeing a string of controversial decisions go against their club.
Wolves have received at least two apologies from refereeing body PGMOL, with boss Gary O’Neil claiming bad decisions have cost his team seven points.
After the latest incident in Monday’s 3-2 defeat at Fulham, supporters have decided “enough is enough”.
Old Gold Pack have asked for donations in order to fund the protest and – tellingly – claim to have received some from fans of other clubs.
A spokesperson for the OGP told the Express & Star: “We want to be a voice for the fans. Not just Wolves fans but fans in the Premier League in general. There is a feeling everyone is fed up with the inconsistency of VAR. It is changing the game for the worse. It’s like Gary O’Neil said, enough is enough.”
The group hope their actions will receive the same coverage as that recently seen at Everton, when their supporters protested against a 10-point deduction for breaching financial fair play rules.
O’Neil admitted he was losing faith in VAR technology after Fulham were awarded two controversial penalties, while their striker Carlos Vinicius avoided being sent-off for headbutting Wolves skipper Max Kilman.
Wolves had previously been on the end of rough decisions in matches against Manchester United, Luton, Newcastle and Sheffield United.
Meanwhile, Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs served a one-game suspension for calling referee Anthony Taylor “absolutely f****** useless” – an FA report has revealed.
Hobbs was charged by the FA for misconduct earlier this month, and was handed a one-match ban, which he has already served, as well as a £4,000 fine.
After the final whistle, Taylor alleged that Hobbs passed him and remarked, “absolutely f****** useless as usual”. Taylor also alleged that Hobbs later stated, “We look forward to your apology again”.
The incident took place following Wolves’ 2-2 draw against Newcastle, which involved a VAR decision that judged Hwang Hee-chan to have fouled Newcastle defender Fabian Schar, before Callum Wilson scored the resulting penalty.
