Back to the Manchester United Newsfeed

Ex-Premier League referee Jeff Winter says VAR has created a 'powderkeg' of anger towards officials after yet another weekend of shameful dissent and bad behaviour by top-flight players and managers

Jeff Winter knows how it feels to be in the eye of the storm.

A Premier League referee for a decade, he took charge of some of English football's most tempestuous fixtures and was never afraid to give a bit back to mouthy players.

He has spoken previously about how, as a new top-flight official, three Manchester United players surrounded him in a test of mettle as Alex Ferguson snarled from the sidelines.

Winter brandished three yellow cards for dissent and was never bothered again.

But he doesn't envy the officials of today, when bookings serve as zero deterrent and VAR has created what he describes as a 'powderkeg' of anger and frustration which endangers officials at all levels of the game.