Bournemouth and Wolves fans chanted “this is embarrassing” as it took seven minutes for a goal check despite semi-automated offside technology being used for the first time in English football during this weekend’s FA Cup matches.

Confusion reigned at the Vitality Stadium when Milos Kerkez thought he had put Bournemouth 2-0 up having bundled in at the far post.

But the incident was subject to a VAR review for an apparent handball.

At one point, referee Sam Barrott then went over to speak to both managers, with nobody clear if Kerkez’s effort was going to be allowed to stand.

After a delay lasting more than seven minutes the effort was ruled out for offside.

Previous guidance on the Football Association website said “the expected average reduction of decision time in close offside calls with semi-automated offside technology is approximately 30 seconds”.

The new technology is designed to significantly decrease delays caused by the manual process currently used by VAR to determine offsides by ‘drawing lines’ with crosshairs.

However, it is understood the check was complex as officials had to look at both a handball and the unclear offside, so they drew the crosshairs instead and this added more time than usual.

FA guidance says the VAR still has the option to draw crosshairs as a back-up to the semi-automated offside technology.

“This process may be necessary in ‘edge cases’ where several players block the view of the ball or other players for the system’s cameras,” the FA says.

The technology was used for the first-time ever in English football in Aston Villa’s FA Cup fifth-round win against Cardiff City on Friday night.

Merson: Unbelievable! I’d like to see it again!

Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday as the ball hit the back of the net:

“When I look at this angle it looks a blatant handball but when I first watched it looked like it’d come off his hip. I think this might get disallowed .

“As he’s [Kerkez] followed it in it’s sort of hit him here [top of his arm] and then gone in off the post. I mean this is going to be harsh, they might give it. It’s on his sleeve. It [the ball] sort of gets caught on the post with him and then he runs past it and it drops into the net – and this is all done at 100mph.”

Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday more than four minutes into the VAR review:

Image: Referee Sam Barrott waits on the VAR decision before the effort is eventually ruled out

“Unbelievable. Now the ref has come over and talked to both managers, all the coaches have come and all the players are around.

“Now he hasn’t said anything yet, he’s just had a big meeting with them, talked, now he’s come away and now he’s talking to the players. Still no decision.

“I don’t know if he was asking the coach if there was any good restaurants around there tonight or something!”

Paul Merson following the decision to disallow the effort:

“They have given it offside against Kerkez. He’s come into the far post as the corner comes in but when he goes up to put it in with his hip, his foot is offside.

“But that isn’t going to be the case when the corner comes in, he’s not standing there already so I don’t know what’s happened there. I’d like to see it again but they didn’t show you that part of it.

“It’s taken seven or eight minutes and they’ve come to the conclusion it’s offside, so it’s still 1-0.”