‘Absolutely pathetic’ – EFL club told to have emergency board meeting and sack manager

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Adrian Durham has urged Norwich to sack manager Philippe Clement after his ‘pathetic’ rant about VAR before his side’s defeat to Millwall.The Belgian’s nightmare start to the season continued on Saturday, as the Canaries fell to a demoralising 3-0 loss at the Den.Philippe Clement’s Norwich have no points on the board after their first two Championship gamesGettyA Tairyk Arconte double before Luke Cundle’s late goal made it two defeats from two for Norwich this campaign, who were reduced to ten men after Jose Cordoba was dismissed in the second half.This leaves Clement’s side 23rd in the Championship already, with only Southampton below them thanks to their four-point deduction.Norwich’s drubbing at the hands of Millwall came just a week after their opening-day defeat to Blackburn was marred by controversy.The Baggies ran out 2-1 winners at Carrow Road, but were handed a slice of good fortune when Aune Heggebo’s opener came via him diverting the ball into the net with his hand.Despite the appeals of the Norwich players, the goal was allowed to stand by referee Tim Robinson.The goal quickly went viral on social media, leading to calls for VAR to be introduced, while Heggebo was later handed a two-game ban by the EFL for ‘successful deception of a match official’.What did Clement say about VAR?A day before Norwich’s clash with Millwall, Clement delivered a passionate rant calling for VAR to be introduced to the Championship, naming all 71 countries that use the technology.In a seven-minute long monologue, the ex-Rangers boss said: “I think the league creates its own problems by not having VAR.“I didn’t want to go into that after the game because you want to focus on the team and the things we could do better, and clearly there are things the referees could have done better.“But I know it’s real time it goes fast, and there are errors made by human beings.Tairyk Arconte’s double saw Millwall put Norwich to the sword on SaturdayGetty“That’s why there’s VAR. So the next morning, you’re still gutted about things, and then I asked my analyst to look up, in which leagues around the world, there is VAR. “So that’s why I have this list.”Clement then stopped the press conference to read out all 71 countries that use VAR, even taking time to specify which nations have it across more than one division – unlike England.He added: “So all these leagues have VAR. There are countries that never played in a World Cup here.“It’s madness for me that there’s no VAR in the Championship.”What has Adrian Durham said about Clement?Less than 24 hours on from Clement’s VAR plea, his rant backfired as Norwich were well beaten at the Den, and talkSPORT’s Durham was less than impressed with their manager’s behaviour.Norwich have now shipped in five goals from their opening two Championship gamesShutterstock EditorialReacting to the result on air, Durham said: “Millwall 3-0 Norwich City was the full-time score. “Millwall looked really good when I was watching them last week at Bristol City and they backed it up with a big home win against Norwich who had Jose Cordoba sent off at.Delivering a scathing verdict on Clement, Durham then fumed: “Any wonder Norwich were battered at Millwall. “Philippe Clement the manager told his analysts to find out all the countries that have VAR instead of using his analysts to find out about his opponents Millwall. “Absolutely pathetic rant about VAR – should have led to an emergency board meeting at Norwich and he should no longer be the manager, but that’s just my opinion.“Clement took over at Norwich in November 2025, nine months on from his sacking by Rangers, and guided his side to a ninth-place finish last term.And while the Canaries were tipped for a play-off push before the season began, their manager’s main focus now will be getting some points on the board as they look to get out of the Championship relegation zone.