Ex-West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce is no fan of VAR. This much seems clear, as he berated the controversial system in a recent interview.

The former Hammer believes that VAR is becoming a liability in the game, believing that it is ‘encouraging’ simulation and duplicity on the pitch. Despite this, he said he does not blame any of the players or managers for taking ‘advantage’ of it.

Allardyce’s managerial career in football has been nomadic, to say the least. He managed the Hammers between the years of 2011 and 2015 – he also coached teams such as Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United and most recently Leeds United.

What did former West Ham boss Sam Allardyce say about VAR in the interview?

Speaking to William Hill, Allardyce said: “What I always used to say to my players is to make the referee’s decision easy and if you get fouled in the box, go down. I wasn’t asking them to go down with the slightest of touches, I was asking them to go down if they got fouled properly.

“Sometimes the referees go over to look at the screen and give a penalty and you think to yourself, ‘no, surely not’. We were supposed to try and get diving out of the game, but instead, we’re encouraging it. All the players know that if they go down in the box when they get touched, they’ll be awarded a penalty. It’s a big worry that we were supposed to be cutting diving out, and now we’re encouraging more diving than ever before.

“Bruno Fernandes could have stayed on his feet [against Wigan] if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to, instead he took a step and then went down. I’m not blaming anyone for doing it because if you can take advantage of it, you do. There’s so much at stake in games now that players buy what they can.”