Ipswich Town: Blackburn’s Valérien Ismaël wants VAR in Championship

Blackburn Rovers head coach Valérien Ismaël has urged the EFL to introduce VAR in the Championship after his side suffered a 3–0 defeat away at Portman Road.

The Frenchman’s frustration follows a season he believes has been riddled with contentious decisions. After Rovers were denied victory late on in the reverse fixture at Ewood Park in December, Ismaël even compiled a handwritten list of officiating calls he felt had gone against his team.

He was left angry once again on this occasion, pointing to two major incidents in the second half when the score stood at 2–0. Ismaël felt Yuki Ohashi should have been awarded a penalty after a clash with Darnell Furlong in the box on 63 minutes, and claimed Furlong should later have been shown a red card for an elbow on Todd Cantwell nine minutes later.

“I think the two first-half goals killed our momentum in what is always a tough away game,” Ismaël said. “We tried to respond in the second half, but it’s another clear penalty on Yuki. At some point the referee has to do his job. These are big decisions.

“If we get the penalty and make it 2–1, the game is back on. And for me, there’s a clear red card on Toddy as well.”

Ismaël insisted the Championship is in urgent need of VAR, describing the current situation as “embarrassing”. “If VAR is there, these moments don’t happen.

Week after week we’re talking about huge decisions — penalties given or not given — and it keeps going against us,” he said.

While acknowledging Blackburn’s poor first half, Ismaël maintained the match could have swung differently over 90 minutes. “Conceding two early goals doesn’t help, but one moment can change the momentum and give you a chance to get back into the game.”

Rovers now sit just three points above the relegation zone, and Ismaël admitted his squad is battling through a difficult spell. “We’re trying to find ourselves at the moment,” he added.

“We’ve lost another player to injury in Liam Miller and are missing around 10 players. We have to stay calm, ride out the storm and wait for players to return.”