Brentford blew a three-goal lead at Burnley before Mikkel Damsgaard's 93rd-minute winner saw them edge to a 4-3 victory - but that was nowhere near the end of the drama at Turf Moor.
After pulling back from 3-0 down before Damsgaard's late strike, Burnley thought they had levelled again eight minutes into added time when Ashley Barnes fired home - only for a four-minute VAR check to rule he had controlled the ball with his hand, to deal a blow to the Clarets' survival hopes.
Both Your Site News' Mike Dean and Kris Boyd felt video replays were inconclusive and that the goal should have stood, but VAR Paul Tierney felt sufficiently confident of disallowing it without sending referee Samuel Barrott to the pitchside monitor.
"I don't want to say too much because I might be wrong but it looks so, so harsh," added Burnley head coach Scott Parker in his post-match press conference.
Tierney's decision would have proven immaterial had Brentford held onto what appeared an unassailable 3-0 lead secured as early as the 34th minute when Kevin Schade bundled home to add to Damsgaard's earlier header and a second on the break from Igor Thiago in front of an increasingly restless home support.
They would likely have been booed off at half-time had they not been handed a stroke of good fortune moments before the break when Michael Kayode diverted a cross into his own net when it struck his trailing leg following a miskick.
Kayode was more unfortunate with his involvement in Burnley's second minutes after the interval when he deflected Jaidon Anthony's strike and wrong footed Hakon Valdimarsson to give the Clarets real hope of a comeback.
They completed it on the hour mark when Zian Flemming's powerful header from Hannibal Majbri's cross brought Turf Moor to its feet - before even better threatened to follow.
Burnley briefly thought they had completed the ultimate turnaround from another Flemming finish 11 minutes from time before VAR rightly adjudged Anthony had been offside in the build-up.
In a game full of attacking resilience but shambolic defending Brentford put their collapse behind them through Damsgaard's injury-time strike, their first shot on target of the second half, and believed they had finally done enough to secure victory amid wild celebrations in front of their travelling support.
Barnes then thought he had had the last laugh with what would have been his first Premier League goal of the season in the eighth minute of added time - but Tierney had other ideas with a controversial overturn to provide one final twist in what could well prove the game of the season across the Premier League.
Burnley head coach Scott Parker:
"We can be critical, we gave ourselves a lot to do. You normally say the word proud after a win, but I'm immensely proud of this group for what they've gone through today. The adversity we faced, we gave ourselves a mountain to climb as big as Mount Everest.
"If ever there was a game we'll look back on when this season's long done and the curtain comes down, if there was ever a reference point it would be this one, the fine margins.
"The offside is absolutely minimal, then there's a handball which I've not seen but if that's the law, that's the way the game is.
"We're looking for perfection in every element of the game. Everyone's looking for perfection, whether that's a picture you're taking of yourself or whatever it may be. That's the way it is.
"I'm in a weak position because we have the technology and you can always fall back on that."
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews to Your Site:
"Emotions are still running high. We played really well in the first half, we approached the game in a respectful way and got ourselves into a really good position.
"The goal before half-time altered things slightly, they started the second half very well and made some changes, it was up to us to react to that and we didn't.
"The overall feeling is pride of being able to grind out a result in strenuous chaotic circumstances. Would I have taken this result before the game? Of course I would."
