Luton Town rescued a late point against Burnley last night, although there was more than a hint of controversy about the stoppage time goal that resulted in the 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.
Burnley had led for the vast majority of the game, with Zeki Amdouni's first half strike meaning they held a slender lead heading into injury time.
However, Carlton Morris would secure a point for the visitors with a goal in the 92nd minute.
Never. Give. Up! 💪 pic.twitter.com/uE1SSuzdpN
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) January 12, 2024
Some questioned the decision to allow the goal, claiming that Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford was fouled in the buildup.
Vincent Kompany certainly wasn't pleased with the decision, saying after the game that he could not believe that VAR did not intervene.
"It's a joke!"
Vincent Kompany's VAR rant 😡 pic.twitter.com/MIQP5vxlTj— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 13, 2024
What are we doing, seriously? It's a joke, it's a joke...
I don't understand how we can go through this phase, through these events, and not come to the conclusion that it's a foul. You've got a striker, and good luck to him, who's first looked at the goalkeeper, takes a couple steps into him and clears the way for his colleague.
Then he has a look at the referee to see if he gets away with it. The ball goes in and none of the Luton players celebrate, nobody. From the side, I think I was just complaining because I thought if I don't complain they might get away with this, you never know.
So I complain, but thinking in my head 'surely that's going to be given as a foul'.
I'm seeing that VAR is not intervening, the ref is having a thinking about it, it's going to go to 'clear and obvious error' and we are going to have that same discussion that we have every single time...
How many times is this going to keep happening? There will be a couple of lines in a newspaper and on we go. Consequences, zero.
While Kompany may have a point, some were quick to call out the irony of these comments.
Liverpool fans call out Vincent Kompany after VAR comments
Vincent Kompany may have been quick to call out the officials for their handling of this incident, but he has been less forthright in doing so in the recent past.
When asked about the controversy surrounding Luis Diaz's disallowed goal for Liverpool against Spurs back in September, he had this to say:
Mistakes are human. I like the fact there’s transparency and that people come forward, own their mistakes, that we get access to the footage.
There might be a trend here where we get the young referees who need to learn Premier League game time or we get the guys who are just coming back and easing their way in but I’m sure with time and better results that can change.
For him personally, we all make mistakes.
Clearly, that logic does not apply when the poor decision affects his team.
Quite a few Liverpool fans were quick to point out the contrast in the comments he made after last night's game.
If only Kompany, Ange, Arteta and others had supported LFC when calling out the Refs, maybe they wouldn't be complaining about dropping points to the Refs since then... pic.twitter.com/kXD0GYBRUq
— JKD LFC (@JKD_LFC) January 13, 2024
Don't Vincent Kompany come out and say Mistakes happen, we need to protect the Refs? Wasn't so eager last night was he.
— Martin Underwood (@312mju) January 13, 2024
Ange, Kompany and others have all poured cold water on being critical of refs but they’ve all changed their tunes when the shoe’s been on the other foot.
The bottom line is, officiating standards are at an all time low and that has coincided with Webb’s appointment. Sack him.— Samy (@sazzam31) January 13, 2024
The funny thing about hypocrisy is that it always gets you in the end. Blockhead Kompany was oblivious to this fact a few months ago, & now looks like a twat for bleating about VAR.
— Kevin (@emptyMINDZ) January 13, 2024
They are doing the best they can… https://t.co/LDviDkcLyS pic.twitter.com/zD8sxheclQ
— george05 (@ge0rge_05) January 13, 2024
Probably one of the best things journalists have done lately was to ask Premier League coaches what they thought of VAR after our game against Spurs https://t.co/6XJdnyM9Jj pic.twitter.com/jLPN4e1tb4
— Alex 💥 (@alexlfc27) January 13, 2024
Here’s another one… Defending referees & VAR until it effects the team he manages… https://t.co/3sczSgjL10
— IfOnlyFC (@GaryHart127) January 13, 2024
All of these managers had the chance after the Liverpool Tottenham game to stand together and create a powerful message that the standard of refereeing in this country isn’t good enough. Instead they all said tough get on with it and now look at them…. https://t.co/XdsaMRNmcq
— LFC Gov (@lfctransfershq) January 13, 2024
AND AGAIN https://t.co/6Z7bJbvbMP pic.twitter.com/kLFH4gBZyR
— . (@_Riddock_) January 13, 2024
This result leave Burnley in 19th place in the Premier League table, two points behind Luton Town.
With games against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal to come over the next month, they certainly could have done without conceding that late equaliser last night.
SEE ALSO: Ex-Premier League Boss Makes 'Foul-Mouthed' Claim About Roy Keane
