“Subconscious Bias?” – Gary O'Neil's Frustration Over VAR Calls in Wolves' Loss to Manchester City

After Wolves’ close 2-1 loss to Manchester City, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil was left feeling frustrated, especially because of a contentious call concerning John Stones’ late goal. In a dramatic moment deep into stoppage time of the match at Molineux, Stones seemed to have given City the victory, but the goal was disallowed on the field. But following a VAR review, the ruling was reversed, and City was given the goal.

According to O’Neil, the officials might have “subconsciously” given Manchester City the advantage while making the ultimate choice. He expressed concerns about how close calls occasionally seem to favor bigger clubs, even though he did not accuse anyone of intentional bias.

The close call with Bernardo Silva of Manchester City was the case that made O’Neil angry. Silva was first ruled to be offside for blocking Wolves’ goalkeeper, Jose Sa, when Stones’ header went towards the goal. Due to this interference, referee Chris Kavanagh disallowed the goal on-field; however, VAR stepped in and directed Kavanagh to review his decision. Kavanagh changed his first judgment after watching the video on the screen and concluding that Silva had gotten out of Sa’s line of sight and had moved away from the goalkeeper in time for the goal to stand.

The fact that VAR only looked at the offside position and not Silva’s obvious influence on Jose Sa, which would have been interpreted as a foul, only made O’Neil more angry. O’Neil called attention to the inconsistent application of the rules. He brought up a comparable instance from last season, in which Wolves’ goal against West Ham was disallowed for goalkeeper interference. Max Kilman of Wolves had his goal disallowed in the game because a teammate was judged to be too close to the goalkeeper, impairing his ability to make a save.

O’Neil said in an interview with Sky Sports, “The reason we were given for Kilman’s disallowed goal was that one of our players was too close to the goalkeeper. Bernardo Silva was less than a yard away from Jose Sa when Stones headed the ball. The same argument could be made here, but I am sure they will tell us that everything was correct and the call was right.”

O’Neil continued in his post-game press conference by raising the possibility that decisions made in games involving bigger clubs, such as Manchester City, may contain some unconscious prejudice. He explained this by saying that referees may be more likely to rule in favor of the more powerful clubs during tight matches. However, he went on to say that he doesn’t think this is done intentionally.

“Is there something in the subconscious around decision-making? Without knowing it, are officials more likely to give a decision to Manchester City than to Wolves?” O’Neil wondered. “If I had to upset someone in a street and there was a little guy and a big guy, I’d probably upset the little guy. Not because I have anything against little guys, but you get what I mean. There’s definitely nothing intentional, but maybe in tight situations, decisions sometimes lean towards the bigger clubs.”

O’Neil didn’t hesitate to clarify that he respects the match officials and believes they are doing their best. “I know they are 100% honest and doing the best job they can. I respect them fully. But maybe, just maybe, in tight moments, the decisions edge towards the big teams.”

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) released a statement after the match, explaining the reasoning behind the decision. They stated that Stones’ goal was initially disallowed because Silva was seen as blocking Sa’s view. However, after reviewing the incident, VAR concluded that Silva had moved away in time and didn’t interfere with Sa, leading to the decision being overturned.

The PGMOL also clarified that VAR did not review the contact between Silva and Sa, as only the offside ruling was being considered during the review. Despite O’Neil’s frustrations, the governing body of match officials did not comment on his post-match remarks, leaving the decision to stand.