THE referee at the centre of the Sydney derby VAR drama has explained his decision.

Chris Beath ruled out Roly Bonevacia’s second half strike at a crucial point in the match, in a call which saw Wanderers boss Markus Babbel lose his call and be shown a red card.

Initially it was thought the goal was chalked off for a foul by Jaushua Sotirio on Michael Zullo, but Beath has revealed he had actually ruled offside.

Get every match of the 2018/19 Hyundai A-League LIVE. Sign up now and start streaming straight away on FOXTEL GO.
“Of course, happy to talk you through it,” Beath told Adam Peacock after the game.

“So lets make it really clear that the offence that we’ve given for is actually offside. The attacker is clearly in an offside position and his action impacts on the defender - on Zullo’s ability to play the ball.”

When questioned as to whether he stood by his call, he responded: “It was only picked up by the VAR. From a technical point of view the offside is the correct decision.”

The drama marred the action of the historic derby, the first football match played at the SCG in decades. And caused Fox Football’s Mark Bosnich to launch an incredible plea about the technology, suggesting “this game is going to go under if this continues.”