'The most sterile game there is' - another controversial day for VAR

Burnley manager Scott Parker says video assistant referee decisions are threatening to turn football into "the most sterile game there is" after his side lost to a controversial late penalty on Saturday at Manchester United.

Ruben Amorim's team were awarded a penalty deep into second-half stoppage time when Jaidon Anthony was penalised for grabbing Amad Diallo's shirt inside the area.

Referee Sam Barrott initially waved play on, but after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor he awarded the spot-kick and Bruno Fernandes held his nerve to earn the hosts a 3-2 victory.

"It's the way the game has gone - quadruple checking everything every minute," Parker told BBC Match of the Day. "On the field, the referee didn't give the foul.

"Then we've re-reffed it. It's not the ref, it's a fella 200-odd miles away in a box."

Clarets striker Lyle Foster also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside earlier in the second half, a decision the 24-year-old described as "unfair".

The controversy at Old Trafford came after two highly contentious decisions in Chelsea's 2-0 triumph over Fulham in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off.

Referee Rob Jones ruled out Fulham teenager Josh King's 21st-minute goal for a foul in the build-up, before Enzo Fernandez scored from the penalty spot after a Trevoh Chalobah cross had struck Ryan Sessegnon's arm.

A seething Marco Silva told TNT Sports the decision to disallow King's fine finish was "unbelievable".

"I prefer not to say something, because I would be punished," he added.

We may only be three games into the new Premier League season, but more often than not VAR is once again dominating post-match discussion.

Anthony 's 66th-minute equaliser appeared to have earned Burnley a point and increased the pressure on under-fire boss Amorim - but Anthony turned from hero to villain when he brought down Amad.

Barrott initially waved away United's penalty appeals as the first contact had occurred outside the box, but VAR Stuart Attwell asked the on-field official to review his decision.

It took Barrott four minutes to award the penalty, announce his decision to the crowd and clear the area of Burnley players, with Fernandes eventually converting from the spot to break the Clarets' hearts.

"The shirt pull starts outside the box but continues inside," former Premier League defender Stephen Warnock told Final Score. "It's panic [from Anthony] more than anything."

Former England captain Steph Houghton, told BBC Match of the Day: "I think it was a penalty. Amad was brilliant for Man Utd and as soon as he gets into the box it is a mistake to try and grab him. I understand Scott Parker's frustration though."

Earlier in the game, moments after Bryan Mbeumo had put Manchester United 2-1 ahead, Foster did superbly to round goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and slide the ball into the unguarded net.

However, the semi-automated offside technology deemed Foster to be just offside from Quilindschy Hartman's pass.

Replays show how narrow the decision was, with Foster's arm deemed to be ahead of last defender Diogo Dalot.

Parker said: "We're probably months or a year away from not celebrating goals [at all].

"I stand on the touchline, you score a goal and I feel like there's a million things that go through your mind - a checklist. Was it offside? Did he step on his toe two minutes before?"

Fulham thought they had taken a first-half lead against their London rivals when 18-year-old Josh King broke clear and sent a low finish past Robert Sanchez - but VAR Michael Salisbury spotted an earlier foul by Rodrigo Muniz on Chalobah.

Muniz was adjudged to have stepped on Chalobah's foot while attempting to shield the ball from the Chelsea defender, with referee Robert Jones viewing the pitchside monitor before declaring to the crowd that Muniz's "careless challenge" had left the officials with no other option.

Many inside and outside Stamford Bridge disagreed, insisting that contact had been minimal and Muniz had never attempted to make a challenge in the first place.

Fulham's sense of injustice was compounded by Joao Pedro's opener in the ninth minute of stoppage time, after eight minutes had been indicated by the fourth official.

Former Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy told BBC Sport: "I was really angry, not because it was Fulham but because I love football. Goals like that shouldn't be disallowed by complete accidents.

"They described it as a challenge, but there was no challenge for the ball - it was a bit of skill.

"I don't understand how you can watch football and referee football for that long and not understand certain dynamics. It was just a bizarre interpretation."

By comparison, Jones' decision to penalise Sessegnon for handball early in the second half was more understandable - though VAR did spend plenty of time reviewing the incident for a potential handball by Joao Pedro in the build-up.

"Everybody's shocked by what's happened this afternoon," Silva told Match of the Day. "Nobody can tell me it was an obvious foul from Rodrigo.

"It's difficult to understand."

Burnley and Fulham are not the first teams to fall foul of VAR this season - and certainly will not be the last.

During Liverpool's opening-day victory over Bournemouth, Anfield was left perplexed by the officials' decision not to penalise Marco Senesi for what appeared to be a deliberate handball, which denied Reds striker Hugo Ekitike a clear run at goal.

The Premier League said afterwards that Senesi's action "deemed not to be a clear handball offence nor a denial of a goalscoring opportunity due to the distance from goal".

Eberechi Eze was denied a superb free-kick goal in Crystal Palace's 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend - a goal that was ruled out because Palace defender Marc Guehi was within one metre of Chelsea's wall.

And, in last Sunday's 1-1 draw between Fulham and Manchester United, Cottagers manager Silva and defender Calvin Bassey were adamant that Leny Yoro had pushed the Nigerian in the build-up to his opener.

"People are really fed up with VAR and the forensics of VAR," Warnock told Final Score. "Every time there's a goal we're looking at it going: 'Why are you looking for more?'

"Whichever way you look at it, the game's going backwards now. It's not enjoyable to watch."

Warnock has called for former players to be part of the VAR team, claiming referees "do not necessarily see the intricacies of the game".

He continued: "We know the game, we love the game and we want to see it played in the right way and see the right outcome.

"We know when a player is trying to cut across someone. When you are doing that on a day-to-day basis, you see things differently."