What’s the point anymore for clubs like West Ham and Newcastle

The fact other clubs similar in size and stature to West Ham and Newcastle in the shape of Aston Villa and Everton were also wronged on the same day only adds to the weight of opinion that there is a clear bias in the Premier League.

Name two teams that have been threatening or could threaten the vomit-inducing Sky Sports creation that is the “Big Six” – god it makes me feel sick just to type those words – and West Ham and Newcastle will likely be at the top of the list.

Hammers and Magpies fans – like many supporters of teams outside what we should be calling the “Pig Six” after the European Super League debacle that went completely unpunished – believe there is a bias towards those traditional established top six clubs.

It is a fact that it is more beneficial for the Premier League to have certain teams at the top when it comes to branding and the ever increasingly lucrative sale of TV rights. Because the Premier League created its brand around that and with it legions of “fans” of those particular clubs around the world.

The feeling is that plucky West Ham and Newcastle being in the top six, or dare we say even taking one the Premier League’s Champions League spots, would not be good for business so to speak.

If that is the view from the higher-ups then it only goes to show how out of touch they are with most fans who are sick of seeing the same teams competing for the top spots and trophies every season.

The appalling lack of punishment for the Prem clubs involved in the despicable European Super League scandal has only served to fuel those conspiracy theories.

The league’s officials and their use of VAR, particularly in games involving those cherished elite clubs, is not just fanning the flames, it is throwing a grenade into them.

When VAR came in, fans of clubs like West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton thought it might just see the clear bias that had existed for years towards certain clubs eradicated.

There would be no hiding place for referees giving decisions to the “bigger” teams in marginal games.

Somehow. Inexplicably. It has got worse not better.

Officials now seem to use VAR almost as a second chance to ensure one of the favoured six – or those threatening to disrupt it – get the decision needed to suit the Premier League’s branding.

What’s the point anymore for clubs like West Ham and Newcastle in a Premier League desperate to maintain the status quo.

This isn’t just the angry opinion of a few conspiracy theorist fans.

It is increasingly the groundswell of opinion among supporters not just of the “other 14” but even some of those up in the ivory tower terraces of the very top six that is being protected.

Yesterday has been described as dark day for the officials and VAR in this country.

But in actual fact it could be the day which brought the ugly truth kicking and screaming into the light.

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