Wolves and VAR continue to have a strained relationship in the Premier League with the officials regularly making costly mistakes.
The system that was brought into England’s top division in the 2019/20 campaign has never been in Wolves’ good books. From the moment it was introduced, it was chalking off goals for the Old Gold to the anger of the Molineux faithful.
However, since the turn of 2023, Wolves have been on the end of some horrendous decisions by the officials.
VAR is usually at the centre of the drama with the officials at Stockley Park continuously coming to the wrong conclusion despite having multiple replays of the incident.
In this article, we examine every single controversial decision that has gone against Wolves in the Premier League this season.
VAR failed to give Wolves a penalty in Manchester United (1) vs (0) Wolves, August 2023
On the opening day of the campaign, VAR impacted Wolves’ season. It was Gary O’Neil’s first game in charge of the club after he was appointed just days before the start of the campaign.
While fans were extremely pessimistic about the match, Wolves played very well and could have gone ahead multiple times. However, hopes of a result seemed dashed when Raphael Varane gave United the lead.
Yet, Wolves kept themselves in the game and looked certain to get a penalty in the dying minutes of the match. Goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered in Sasa Kalajdzic without getting the ball which resulted in a VAR check.
After a lengthy delay, VAR confirmed that the on-field decision to not award a penalty was correct resulting in mass outrage from Wolves.
In the aftermath of the result, Howard Webb was forced to apologise to the club while the officials missed the next weekend’s games for the error.
VAR fails to overturn penalty in Luton (1) vs (1) Wolves, September 2023
Wolves travelled to strugglers Luton near the start of the Premier League campaign looking to finally hit a run of form.
At the time, O’Neil’s run as manager was not going well, with only one league win to his name.
In September they faced point-less Luton aiming to get their season back on track. Despite Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s early red card, Wolves were ahead thanks to a great Pedro Neto goal.
However, controversy once again struck Wolves as the referee gave the hosts a penalty for a Joao Gomes handball. The replays showed that the ball first hit the midfielder’s leg before deflecting onto his arm, yet, VAR elected to stick with the decision.
This once again caused uproar with even former referee Mike Dean ‘astounded’ that VAR did not overturn the penalty.
VAR fails to overturn penalty in Wolves (2) vs (2) Newcastle, October 2023
After Mario Lemina’s header cancelled out Callum Wilson’s strike the hosts looked to be heading into half-time level against the Champions League outfit.
However, after Hwang Hee-Chan delayed his clearance from a corner, he was adjudged to have brought down Fabian Schar which prompted a VAR review. Upon reviewing the replays it was clear that the South Korean international made little to no contact with the defender with his foot instead hitting the ground.
Yet, the officials decided not to overturn the decision which allowed Callum Wilson to convert from the spot right on half-time.
Wolves never received an official apology from the PGMOL for the decision but the referee was sent to the Championship the next weekend.
Read more: Wolves’ worst-ever VAR decisions.
VAR fails to overturn penalty in Sheffield United (2) vs (1) Wolves, November 2023
While many might believe that the officials would learn from their mistakes, the very next week, VAR made almost an identical mistake.
With Wolves drawing 1-1 thanks to Bellegarde’s equaliser it seemed as if Wolves would slumber to a point against the strugglers.
However, Sheffield United were then gifted an opportunity to win their first league game of the season.
In a near carbon copy of the Newcastle incident, the referee adjudged Fabio Silva to have fouled a man inside the box despite the full-back already being on his way to the ground.
VAR once again failed to overturn the penalty which allowed Sheffield United to win the match deep in stoppage time.
VAR fails to overturn penalty in Fulham (3) vs (2) Wolves, November 2023
In a game littered with terrible VAR calls, the first incident that caused controversy was Fulham’s first penalty.
With the game at 1-1, the referee gave the hosts a chance to retake their lead when Nelson Semedo was adjudged to have brought down Tom Cairney despite the contact being minimal.
However, once again VAR examined the incident and believed that it was not a ‘clear and obvious error’ from the on-field referee.
What makes this situation worse is that VAR would then give Fulham another penalty in added time. This was deemed ‘clear and obvious’ despite minimal contact and the on-field referee not giving it.
In a review after the game, an independent panel believed that the original penalty shouldn’t have stood. However, VAR shouldn’t have overturned it due to the ‘clear and obvious rule’.
VAR fails to show Carlos Vinicius in Fulham (3) vs (2) Wolves, November 2023
Another highly controversial call at Craven Cottage. With the scoreline locked at 2-2 late on, both teams were in search of a winner.
However, it looked as if Wolves would have an advantage late on when VAR picked up a coming together between Carlos Vinicius and Max Kilman.
The footage appeared to show the Brazilian headbutting the Wolves captain, yet, VAR did not advise the referee to send him off.
With Fulham going on to win the match 3-2, O’Neil was furious with the decision. After speaking with the officials after the match, the manager confirmed that he was not sent off due to the headbutt being ‘too soft’.
VAR wrongly disallowed Max Kilman’s goal in Wolves (1) vs (2) West Ham, April 2024
After VAR seemed to shy away from many of Wolves’ Premier League matches in recent weeks, it once again showed in ugly head at Molineux.
In a massive game for who could qualify for European football come the end of the season, Wolves found themselves 2-1 down in added time.
Yet, up popped Kilman to save the day as he lasered the ball into the bottom corner from a header.
However, VAR once again found a way to intervene. The officials at Stockley Park believed that youngster Tawanda Chirewa was believed to be blocking Lukasz Fabianski’s vision in an offside position. This was despite the header being unsavable and the fact that the ‘keeper could see out the young midfielder.
The on-field referee was then sent to the monitor to view this ‘subjective offside’ and then ruled the goal out.
O’Neil was extremely angered by the ‘baffling decision’ as it all but ruled Wolves out of the European race. After the game, it was confirmed that even David Moyes and Fabianski believed the goal should have stood.