Chris Powell calls for VAR after Luton's defeat to Stevenage

Chris Powell says Luton’s bruising defeat at Stevenage was “a case for VAR” in League One, after two controversial goals and a red card for Jack Wilshere lit up a bad-tempered afternoon at Broadhall Way.

Stevenage edged a 2-1 win, but the story for Luton was all about what they felt the officials missed – and what technology might have caught.

Fury over Stevenage opener

The flashpoint came early. Liam Walsh went down under a challenge from Dan Phillips in the build-up to the opener, and the away bench exploded. Dan Kemp swept in the first goal while Luton waited for a whistle that never came.

Wilshere led the protests and paid the price, sent off for his complaints as the Hatters’ frustration boiled over on the touchline.

From the Luton dugout, it looked simple. Powell told BBC Three Counties Radio the foul on Walsh was “blatant” and could not believe play was allowed to continue.

“Everyone in the stadium is expecting the referee to blow, I know you shouldn’t stop,” he said. The replays, in his view, only hardened that sense of injustice.

“Clear offside” for second goal

If the first goal angered Luton, the second left them seething. Josh Magennis doubled Stevenage’s lead, only for Powell to insist the striker had strayed beyond the last defender.

He called it a “clear offside” and argued that Stevenage had “a helping hand” for both goals on an afternoon that dragged the VAR debate down into the third tier.

“I get it, referees have a tough job. But surely there is an argument for VAR at this level,” Powell said. “It can cost teams points, it can cost people jobs.”

The pressure eventually produced a response. Kasey Palmer’s effort deflected in off Mads Andersen to haul Luton back into the contest and set up a tense finish, but Alex Revell’s side held their nerve and their lead.

Stevenage climbed to fourth in the early League One standings. Luton, with two wins, two draws and two defeats from six, sit eighth and stewing over what might have been.

VAR calls grow louder

Powell did not spare the officials, but he stopped short of turning it into a personal attack. He pointed to the realities of the job: one look, one angle, one decision.

“It’s tough for officials, I get that. They get a split second, we have the advantage of seeing it again – they don’t,” he said. His argument was not just about Saturday, but about the tools available at this level.

“You just hope that the way they work, there are four of them, with the assessor, that they make these decisions. It’s just a tough one to take.”

Tough, and potentially costly. Wilshere’s dismissal means he will be banned from the dugout when Bradford City visit Kenilworth Road on 19 September.

The touchline will be one voice quieter that night. The noise around VAR in League One will not be.