Burnley 3-4 Brentford: How VAR denied one of the Premier League’s greatest comebacks

Fast forward to the 99th minute and with Burnley now trailing 4-3, Turf Moor were sent into ecstasy as Barnes thought he had equalized with the final kick of the game.

Fans were left waiting for five minutes as VAR tried to determine whether the ball had struck Barnes’ arm in the lead-up to his goal.

VAR’s ruling of an “accidental handball” led Shearer to describe the rule as “rotten in every way”.

“I just hate the handball rule. Whether it was the decision made today at Burnley or any other controversial decision this season, they have messed it up.

“Now, they will say things are better in the Premier League than abroad, but I don’t like that.

“It’s very messy with everything, there’s ‘deliberate’, ‘proximity’, ‘natural’, ‘unnatural’ – there are so many different ways they have to interpret things, and it’s not fit for purpose.

“For fans to sit in the stadium and wait for three or four minutes, or however long the day took at Turf Moor, doesn’t seem right and it doesn’t feel fair.”

Despite tasting defeat, Parker was restrained in his response to the decision.

“Maybe it’s a little unfair. I didn’t watch it again. I saw it on the big screen and I was thinking it looked like he had his hand next to him,” he said.

“I don’t want to say too much because I will undoubtedly be quoted and I could be wrong. It seems very harsh.

“In the modern era, we want perfection. Of course, there are elements of it that make it what it is. I didn’t watch it again, but offside is offside and if it’s a handball, it’s a handball.”

Former Premier League official Darren Cane said that although Barnes’ handball was accidental, it was “properly disallowed”.

He said: “The handball law stipulates that if a player scores against an opponent directly after the ball touches his hand/arm, even if it is by mistake, it is considered a handball violation.”

“Barnes’ handball was accidental, but was validly disallowed under current law.

“Legislators at the International Football Association Board, who coincidentally met in Cardiff today to discuss amendments to the law, may one day return to punishing only intentional handballs, but until such time, accidental handballs by the scorer will continue to be punished.”