Ask most football fans about VAR and few would have a positive word to say about it.
But one William Hill punter will forever toast video technology in football after a VAR intervention during the Carabao Cup final on Sunday saw their near 2,000/1 acca land.
The first leg of the four-fold in question saw the punter back Newcastle United to defeat Liverpool by a 2-1 correct scoreline.
It looked like the gamble was set to fall at the first hurdle as the Magpies led 2-0 deep into the extravaganza at Wembley Stadium… until fate, and VAR, would lend a hand.
Video Star
The game was already deep into injury time with Newcastle leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak.
Liverpool poured forward to find the goal that would drag them back into the contest, but were unable to find a way through the dogged Magpies rearguard.
But a clinical counter attack saw a long ball put through to Federico Chiesa, wo sprung the Newcastle defensive line before slotting home.
Cue wild celebrations in the Liverpool end and, no doubt, for our punter wherever they were watching the game from.
However, there was a twist in the tale to come…
The linesman raised his flag, signalling that Chiesa was in an offside position before going on to score. The matter was the subject of a lengthy VAR check, which looked no clearer on our TV screens even with the lines drawn onto the pitch.
After a long old delay, VAR decided that the goal should stand – it was 2-1 to Newcastle, with three minutes of injury time to be played.
90+6′ – Fede gets one back!
A cool finish from Chiesa, who fires into the bottom corner.
[1-2] #CarabaoCupFinal https://t.co/dwmzueLQmr
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 16, 2025
Would the Magpies cling on for their first trophy in 70 years? By hook or by crook they did… and our punter’s acca was up and running.
Fantastic Four
Even with one leg safely in the bag, our punter was still a long way from home, with some big odds picks still needing to land.
- Newcastle United to Win 2-1 (12/1)
- Manchester United to Win 3-0 (14/1)
- PSG to Win & Both Teams to Score (17/10)
- Barcelona to Win & Both Teams to Score (11/4)
- Four-fold acca pays 1,937/1
Anyone backing Manchester United to win a game of football this season does so with plenty of risk attached, but the Red Devils were travelling to the hapless Leicester City on Sunday night – they would surely win the contest, but by what scoreline?
If you’ve backed a side to win by a 3-0 margin, ideally your side gets an early goal – and United did, thankfully for our punter, with Rasmus Hojland ending his lengthy goal drought with the 28th minute opener.
Leicester were never at the races, thanks partly to a virtuoso display from Bruno Fernandes, who assisted Alejandro Garnacho’s goal in the second period before finding the net himself courtesy of a lovely finish from the edge of the area.
Technically, there was still for another goal to be scored, but United were by now in cruise control and Leicester’s players, despite working hard, must have been praying for the final whistle.
And when that came, with Manchester United running out 3-0 winners, our punter was halfway to the finishing line.
Things couldn’t have got off to a better start in PSG’s fraught game with bitter rivals Marseille. Ousmane Dembele continued his rich vein of form in 2025, notching the opener after just 17 minutes for the Parisians.
Nuno Mendes doubled PSG’s lead just before half time, so our punter was ahead of the game… assuming that Marseille scored, of course.
And they wouldn’t have to wait long for that to happen, as Amine Gouiri pulled one back for Marseille early in the second half.
In the end, PSG ran out 3-1 winners… satisfying the third leg of our punter’s acca.
All that stood between them and a near 2,000/1 payout was the Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid game; remember, they needed Barca to win and both teams to score.
In a madcap encounter, Atleti took the lead just before half-time. And then, in the second period, all hell broke loose as five goals were scored… including two in injury time.
Atletico went 2-0 up in the 70th minute – surely our punter’s chances were toast? But Robert Lewandowski pulled one back two minutes later, before Ferran Torres dragged Barca level after 78 minutes.
In a grandstand finish, Lamine Yamal netted a 92nd minute goal to spark the most remarkable of turnarounds, with Torres putting the gloss on the victory with a fourth in the 98th minute.
And so, somehow, our punter was a winner. A £20 bet at those near 2,000/1 odds yielded a return of a rather handsome £39,467!