Dubai: Mohamed Salah does not like the introduction of video assistant referees (VAR) to the Premier League, but he will take full advantage of the change in the rules as he thinks it will mean more penalties for him and Liverpool. The Anfield favourite scored 71 goals in all competitions for the Reds during his first two seasons and — while he is not a fan — he believes VAR will mean even more opportunities to hit the net this campaign.
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“I don’t like it … that’s my answer, always. I don’t like it,” Salah told CNN’s Becky Anderson when asked about the use of VAR.
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“I love football how it is. It’s like that with the mistakes of the referee, with the aggression from the player sometimes.
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“It’s OK sometimes to protect the players from dangerous play. But OK, that’s it, in my opinion, that could be the only reason that happened, just to protect the players.
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“But for me, I accepted the football with the mistakes of the referee, mistakes of the player, I don’t know, whatever. That’s how the football gets more excited.”
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However, Salah accepts he is powerless to stop the changes and instead will use them to his advantage.
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“More penalties for me, you will see that,” he said when asked about the impact VAR will have.
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Salah has started the season well, scoring against Norwich as Liverpool have won their first two games.
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With his strike partners Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino also looking in form, once again Liverpool look formidable up front.
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But despite his impressive goalscoring records, Salah does not regard himself as and out-and-out frontman.
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“I’m not a striker, I play as a winger, so it’s my job not just to score but to also assist, play with the midfield,” he said.
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“I play on the wing which no one recommended. For a long time I didn’t play as a number nine.
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“I’m comfortable with that. It’s not my first job. Like, the number one his job is only to score but as a winger it’s not just to score, it’s to give assists … and play with the team. I’ll do a lot of things to defend.”
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