VAR inconsistency is turning the FA Cup semifinals into a farce

The officiating crisis at Wembley

April 26, 2026. The weekend of FA Cup semifinals has concluded, yet the conversation in technical zones and pubs across England hasn't focused on the quality of football. It has settled on the selective amnesia of the officiating teams. The scenes at Wembley, where Leeds United faced Chelsea, were overshadowed by a specific incident involving Dominic Calvert-Lewin. As the Daily Mail documented, Calvert-Lewin yanked Marc Cucurella’s hair during a physical exchange. The lack of card, let alone a red, defies the logic applied to the Lisandro Martinez incident just weeks prior.

We are watching a season where the rulebook functions more like a mood ring than a set of regulations. When a player commits a violent act off the ball, the proximity to the play should not dictate the punishment. The variance in decision-making invites chaos. If a hair pull is punishable by a card in one instance and ignored in the next, the legitimacy of the entire competition suffers. It is not just a matter of human error; it is a breakdown of the standard protocols designed to maintain order on the pitch.

City’s late-game tactical switch

In the other semifinal, Manchester City secured a spot in their fourth consecutive FA Cup final, but the victory was far from a tactical masterclass. Against a disciplined Southampton side, Pep Guardiola’s side found themselves in a defensive deadlock for the bulk of the afternoon. The breakthrough required a personnel adjustment, with Bernardo Silva introduced late to disrupt the Saints' low block.

The impact was almost immediate. City’s offensive structure evolved from its static, wide-stretched possession, morphing into a chaotic scramble that resulted in three goals in an eight-minute window. Nico González eventually provided the 87th-minute winner. While the result is historic, the reliance on such a late-game panic suggests that City’s dominance is becoming increasingly fragile when faced with high-intensity, organized pressing systems.

The ugly undercurrent

While we obsess over tactical shifts and refereeing gaffes, the broader culture of domestic support is souring. The recent standoff between Rangers and Celtic fans serves as a grim reminder that hooliganism is not a relic of the eighties. It is a recurring contagion, and as reported this week, both clubs are failing to suppress the behavior of their most extreme factions. It is a depressing reality when the focus shifts from the tactical beauty of a well-executed transition to the physical safety of those in the stands.

Additionally, the dark side of fan behavior appeared during the Premier League clash between Tottenham and Wolves. Xavi Simons was stretchered off, yet the response from a subsection of the crowd was to taunt the injured player as he exited. The reported abuse directed at Simons while he was visibly incapacitated marks a new nadir for the English league. We expect intensity in the terraces, but there is a clear boundary between passion and malice. When the crowd chooses to celebrate a career-altering injury, it validates the criticism that modern football support is losing its collective moral compass.

Referees are missing clear violations, top clubs are surviving on defensive luck rather than tactical control, and the supporters are increasingly detached from the human cost of the game. With the World Cup looming in June, the pressure on these players to avoid injury while maintaining the standard of their clubs is immense. We are entering the final month of the season, yet the structural integrity of the league and the Cup has never looked less stable.