Row Z: VAR-induced meltdowns, Infantino's bold claims and players thrown under the bus

Welcome to Row Z, The Athletic’s weekly column that shines a light on the bonkers side of the game.From clubs to managers, players to organisations, every week we’ll bring you the absurdities, the greed, the contradictions, the preposterousness and the oddities of the sport we all love…A clear and obvious error… from VAR?So VAR decided the fate of the Premier League title (as well as the race for survival) and everybody reacted really calmly about the situation.VARcical shouted Mail Online, VARCICAL screamed The Sun, which went full caps lock for extra faux outrage (they also queried TOO VAR GONE?), while even Auntie Beeb asked: Biggest VAR call ever?West Ham United fans took it really well… This angle…WOW PABLO IS BEING MANHANDLED BY TWO ARSENAL PLAYERS AND LITERALLY LOSES BALANCE BECAUSE OF THIS RICE DRAGS MAVROPANOS INTO THE GOAL AFTER TRYING TO BEAR HUG SUMMERVILLE TODIBO IS RECEIVING WAIST LOVE IT'S AN ABSOLUTE FARCE I WONT GET OVER pic.twitter.com/cfbTPrmx2p — Central (@WestHam_Central) May 11, 2026Disappointing opportunity missed to use the word ‘VARCE’ at the end there.Anyway, whatever your take on the decision, it’s clear VAR definitely does exactly what the Premier League says it was brought in for.Advertisement