This moment from Serie A will make you despise VAR if you don't already

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Don't mention the VAR: Arkadiusz Milik's final few minutes at the weekend are the epitome of ridiculousness

VAR problems: Arkadiusz Milik of Juventus FC during the match between Juventus FC and US Salernitana on September 11, 2022 at Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy.
(Image credit: Massimiliano Ferraro/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

VAR has plenty of critics – well, add Arkadiusz Milik of Juventus to that list, now.

The last few minutes of the Old Lady's trip to Salernitana in Serie A at the weekend were marred by a bizarre series of events with Polish poacher Milik at the centre of the drama. The Video Assistant Referee were asked to step in to deal with what the forward thought was to be the winning goal… only for things to go horribly wrong.

If you think the Premier League is farcical, Italian football is apparently far, far worse. 

VAR, Arkadiusz Milik, a goal and a red card

Massimiliano Allegri has not recaptured the magic that he inspired Juve with in his first spell – but this weekend, even Big Max must have thought his luck would change.

The Turin-based giants were 2-0 down to lowly Salernitana when new defender Gleison Bremer pulled one back, followed by, errr, old defender Leonardo Bonucci levelling. Juventus kept probing – and six minutes into injury time, Milik found the eureka moment, heading in a corner. 

The former Marseille striker celebrated by removing his shirt and was booked for the celebration… only it was his second yellow card. Milik accepted his punishment, trudged off and then came the real sucker-punch: his goal was ruled out for offside, with Bonucci straying beyond the defensive line and moving towards the ball. Gutting.  

Arkadiusz Krystian Milik of Juventus scores 3-2 goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and Salernitana at Allianz Stadium on September 11, 2022 in Turin.

Milik snatcher: Juve thought they had the points in the bag (Image credit: Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)

Milik's red card remained – similarly to Richarlison's booking against Fulham in the Premier League recently. He still celebrated the goal, didn't he? 

But when a second angle was shown of the disallowed goal after the match, it was clear that Bonucci was being played onside by a defender and that the winner should have counted. The red card for Milik only highlighted the gaffe from the officials – before all hell broke loose again.

Juan Cuadrado and Federico Fazio both saw red, too, with both sets of players confronting one another. Allegri was sent off as well for his part in complaining about the decision, with all four now heading for suspensions.

Oh, VAR. 

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.