After Man City all but secured their place in the Carabao Cup final with a 2-0 win at St James’s Park, Antoine Semenyo’s blistering start to life in Manchester should have been the topic discussed by pundits and journalists alike.
The Ghanaian, signed by Pep Guardiola for £62.5million last week, had just made it two-in-two for the Sky Blues with his twelfth goal of the campaign. A winger who once went out on loan to Bath City, his ascent to the top of English football really has been remarkable.
But no, once again, VAR stole the limelight following a check described as ‘preposterous’ in some quarters.
It came when Semenyo deftly flicked home what would have been his second of the night, only to see the goal chalked off after a review lasting some five minutes and 40 seconds. Officials back at Stockley Park judged that Erling Haaland, standing on the goal-line, was offside.
Guardiola was left seething and launched a post-match rant for the ages. The check had been one of the longest since VAR was introduced some seven years ago.
But what other ludicrous VAR interventions surpassed the five-minute mark? Daily Mail Sport takes a look.
Antoine Semenyo saw his second goal at St James’s Park chalked off on Tuesday night because Erling Haaland was deemed to have been offside
The Man City players were left livid after it took officials at Stockley Park an incredible five minutes and 40 seconds to come to their conclusion
5. Bournemouth vs Burnley – 2023, five minutes
Back in 2023, poor Antoine Semenyo featured – and scored – in another clash that was disrupted by an almost stupendously long VAR review.
After Semenyo and Philip Billing, with a memorable chip from distance, put the Cherries 2-1 in the lead, it came after Jay Rodriguez scored a leveller for the Clarets with a late goal which could have been crucial in their bid to avoid relegation.
The former England striker was played in behind the hosts’ defence by Nathan Redmond before bundling an effort home on his left foot. However, a review which lasted exactly five minutes found that Rodriguez was, very marginally, offside.
It has turned out to be the fifth longest VAR review in history and one which, then, Burnley manager Vincent Kompany said left him ‘very bitter’.
You’re not the only one, Vincent.
The fifth longest VAR review in history occurred in 2023 when officials ruled out a Jay Rodriguez equalier because he was offside
4. West Ham vs Aston Villa – 2024, five minutes & 37 seconds
Then the longest VAR break since the technology was introduced, West Ham United had an equaliser of their own chalked off at the beginning of last season.
With his side 2-1 down at the London Stadium against Aston Villa, Thomas Soucek poked a scrappy goal home in the dying embers which was given in real time by referee Jarred Gillett.
But an excruciating review lasting some five minutes and 37 seconds decided that the ball had struck the Hammers midfielder’s arm in the process.
The passionate crowd at the East London venue were left bemused during and after the check, complaining that they had ‘no idea’ what has happening as Gillett gazed at the VAR monitor on the side of the pitch.
In fact, the debacle was such a farce that the PGMOL faced having to explain why VAR took quite so long making their decision.
It took over five minutes for referee Jarred Gillett to rule out a Tomas Soucek goal for handball in 2024
3. Newcastle vs Man City – 2026, five minutes & 40 seconds
Last night’s latest VAR scandal was actually the third longest since the technology’s introduction.
The fact the crowd at St James’ Park were made to wait almost six minutes in temperatures plummeting to almost freezing really is a joke, to put it plainly.
That is a sentiment echoed by Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards on-air after the game who, perhaps amusingly, fumed: ‘That’s five-and-a-half minutes of my life I’m never going to get back!’
He added: ‘VAR was not brought in for this reason, here. This is anti-goal, which they (the PGMOL) said they weren’t going to do. They said they weren’t going to re-referee the game. This, for me, is re-refereeing game.
‘If you look at (Malick) Thiaw and (Erling) Haaland here, they’ve got each other! They’re both going at it. I don’t think we should be taking away goals for this.’
2. West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest – 2025, six minutes & 14 seconds
West Ham fans really have had a lot to deal with in recent times, haven’t they? Never mind their team’s woes on the pitch, supporters had to sit through a VAR break lasting longer than six minutes at the end of last season.
Six minutes and 14 seconds, to be exact, it took officials at Stockley Park to investigate whether a Nikola Milenkovic flick-on needed chalking off.
When you watch the goal, it’ll make you wonder just what took so long. What were they checking for? Offside? Handball? I’m still not quite sure.
The strike was eventually given, unfortunately for West Ham, and Forest went on to secure all three points under the guise of Nuno Espirito Santo. Now, of course, in charge of the Hammers.
Six minutes and 14 seconds, to be exact, it took officials at Stockley Park to investigate whether a Nikola Milenkovic flick-on needed chalking off when Notts Forest faced West Ham last season
1. Bournemouth vs Wolves – 2025, eight minutes
During an FA Cup clash last year, Bournemouth had to wait a whopping eight minutes to find out whether a Dean Huijsen goal would stand.
That’s right, eight entire minutes. Almost two minutes longer than our second-placed contender in this list.
It came after Milos Kerkez nodded an effort towards Huijsen from a corner. The now-Real Madrid centre-half touched the ball home off his left sleeve before wheeling away to celebrate.
VAR then went through the formalities. First, checking whether Huijsen handled the ball before eventually deciding that he was offside.
It took officials so long to come to a conclusion that both sets of fans began chanting in unison: ‘It’s not football anymore!’
To bring rival football supporters together, the wait must really have been excruciating.
The longest ever wait for a VAR decision to be made came when it took officials eight minutes to conclude that Dean Huijsen had handled the ball during an FA Cup clash between Bournemouth and Wolves
