Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made, and are they correct?
After each weekend we take a look at the major incidents, to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.
– How VAR decisions affected every Prem club in 2022-23
– VAR’s wildest moments: Alisson’s two red cards in one game
– VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
JUMP TO: Tottenham 0-2 Newcastle | Chelsea 1-1 Man United | Everton 3-0 Palace | Douglas Luiz wins red-card appeal
Possible penalty: Sanchez foul on Haaland
What happened: In the 19th minute, Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez appeared to catch Erling Haaland as the striker attempted to take the ball around him. Referee Craig Pawson gave a goal kick.
VAR decision: No penalty.
VAR review: Sanchez clearly catches Haaland, which makes this about that level of contact being enough to make the striker go to ground in the way he has.
VAR decision: Penalty, scored by Haaland.
VAR review: Play continued while the VAR reviewed the incident and came to a decision (2 minutes, 15 seconds from foul to the penalty being awarded), in line with the protocol. If the ball had gone out of play at any point in this period, Pawson wouldn’t have allowed play to restart. This happens in most games, so a match can carry on while a review takes place and not be interrupted if the VAR clears the incident.
One of the key things a VAR should look for is whether or not a player has initiated contact to draw the foul, which makes this VAR overturn confusing.
VAR decision: Decision stands.
VAR review: This situation provides the perfect example of how VAR protocol, and the edict that the decision on the pitch carries most weight, will never give the game consistency of decision making.
Attwell gave the penalty to Chelsea because the Manchester United midfielder had both of his hands around Broja’s body, enough to restrict the forward’s movement and his ability to challenge for the ball. But if the referee hadn’t seen it clearly, it’s unlikely to have been a situation which the VAR, Michael Oliver, would have advised as a penalty kick.
VAR decision: Goal awarded.
VAR review: Sometimes an assistant just gets it badly wrong. It doesn’t happen very often, but we do see situations where a player is a long way onside (or indeed offside by a large margin) and the flag goes up. It’s the exact reason why we have the delayed flag, as frustrating as that may be sometimes.
Gordon was well onside, and the VAR was quickly able to advise that his goal should stand.
VAR decision: Red card, three-game suspension overturned by an independent regulatory commission.
VAR review: The commission, made up of three former referees, isn’t deciding whether the red card is right or not, only judging the suspension and whether or not that should be removed. It came as a huge surprise that Aston Villa won their appeal against Luiz’s suspension for wrongful dismissal.
The VAR, Paul Tierney, told referee Oliver he should visit the monitor to review a red card as a serious missed incident, meaning the officials hadn’t seen it. While both players went chest-to-chest against each other, Luiz appears to make contact with his head on Mitrovic’s (whatever you may think of the Fulham player’s reaction.)
PGMOL hasn’t yet received the written reasons behind the decision, but the only possible explanation is the panel either didn’t feel there was head-to-head contact, or that it was accidental due to the way they confronted each other. Either way, exonerating Luiz when there is no obvious evidence that the officials made a mistake was very unexpected.
It’s rare that a red-card appeal is won when there is evidence in support of the referee. Take the VAR dismissal of Everton midfielder Allan against Newcastle last season; it was a very harsh dismissal for serious foul play which Frank Lampard’s team appealed but were ultimately unsuccessful.
