Edinson Cavani pulled no punches as he spoke out against VAR in an interview for Uruguayan television.
The Manchester United striker, who recently put pen to paper over a one-year extension to his contract, was talking on El Jugones, as per The Mirror, and was asked to give his opinion on VAR.
“VAR takes away the charm and the essence of football,” Cavani told South American outlet Dos De Punta.
“You don’t know why a referee awards a penalty against you or rules you offside – or even how it works. It is difficult. You score a goal and then have to wait two minutes before you can celebrate.
“Or, even worse, you celebrate then they tell you it has been ruled out because your fingernail or your hair was in an offside position.
“Or else because one of your team-mates committed a minor foul that nobody noticed – 14 passes before you put the ball in the net.
“Us players don’t count when things like this are brought in. It’s a case of ‘Play and keep your mouth shout – you earn lots of money.’
“Football is becoming a slog for us, even if there is some passion as well. You need to keep a cool head to put up with this routine for a long time.”
He knew he had to give Manchester another chance. It’s been a difficult time for anyone moving cities with lockdowns and restrictions. Hopefully next season the likes of Cavani, Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles and Amad will all have a better understanding of city life in the UK.
That luxury was stripped of footballers across Europe the past year, so I’m happy Cavani decided to stay another year before heading back to South America. He would be dropping several levels and we’ve seen this season he can still offer something at the very top.
Cavani also spoke candidly about his reaction to the European Super League, which saw United being one of the 12 breakaway clubs wanting to abandon proceedings with UEFA.
“When the Super League came around, I told myself: ‘That can’t be possible – if it happens, what can we expect next?
“I don’t share its ideas at all. I am not in agreement with it. You mustn’t deprive more modest teams the chance of playing in the Champions League.
“Or stop average clubs from dreaming of competing with the bigger ones and having a place among the elite. You can’t deny fans of these clubs the chance to have this experience.”
Read more: Manchester United fans back in Old Trafford on Tuesday night
