VAR shambles at Selhurst: Palace 1-1 Brighton photos
Another season, another set of photos from Brighton drawing 1-1 at Crystal Palace – although on this occasion, the Eagles needed a huge helping hand from VAR.
Pervis Estupinan saw a perfectly good first goal chalked off for offside by Stockley Park. How do we know it was perfectly good?
Well, because PGMOL chief Howard Webb had to take the rare step of phoning the Albion after the game to apologise for the VAR officials drawing their offside lines from the wrong Palace defender.
Had the goal been allowed to stand as it should, then Brighton would have been celebrating their first win at Selhurst Park since Anthony Knockaert’s screamer in a 2-1 success over Palace in 2019.
Instead, the Seagulls had to wait until the second half to take the lead. The outstanding Estupinan was again central to it, whipping in a superb cross from the left which Solly March volleyed home at the back post.
Palace had done very little as an attacking force up to that point. It did not take them long to equaliser, however. Robert Sanchez dropped the most routine of catches, leaving James Tomkins to head into an empty net.
VAR and Sanchez were not the only parties to blame for Brighton not picking up three points. The Albion also missed a succession of glorious opportunities; the usually reliable Alexis Mac Allister in particular could have walked off with a hat-trick.
Alongside the familiar result – this was the fourth 1-1 between Palace and Brighton at Selhurst in a row – the afternoon contained all the usual hallmarks of a trip to Croydon.
Rubbish dumped on the streets including a mattress. Police horses which had crapped everywhere. A terrible view from the away end. A cringeworthy banner from the Holmesdale Fanatics. And kettling by the Met afterwards.
All of which would have been slightly more tolerable had VAR not made one of its biggest cock ups of the season.
If you have any photos you would like included in our Crystal Palace 1-1 Brighton gallery, please e-mail them to wearebrighton@hotmail.co.uk or tweet them to us @wearebrighton
