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 have affected every Prem club in 2023-24
– VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide
In this week’s VAR Review: Why was Eddie Nketiah ruled to be offside when Gabriel Martinelli scored for Arsenal at Everton? Why wasn’t Anthony Gordon‘s penalty overturned for Newcastle United against Brentford? And was the referee right to stick by his penalty decision at Aston Villa?
Possible offside: Nketiah before Martinelli goal
What happened: Arsenal took the lead in the 19th minute when Fabio Vieira played in Martinelli, who finished past Jordan Pickford. However, there was a VAR check for offside against Nketiah.
VAR decision: Goal disallowed.
VAR review: The ball came to Nketiah from Everton striker Beto, so how could the Arsenal player possibly be offside? It’s the return of the “deliberate play” aspect of the law which created a unique offside situation, the likes of which we may not see again.
The word “deliberate” causes great confusion when “controlled” would be easier to understand and more logical — not just for supporters but players, managers and pundits too.
A player can only be judged to have made a “deliberate play” if they have control of the outcome of their action. So, if a player is making an attempted block or interception, this cannot lead to a controlled outcome. Thus, this can’t be a “deliberate play.” And if it cannot be a “deliberate play,” the offside phase cannot be reset.
Gabriel received the ball in the centre-circle and tried to play a square pass. Beto had closed down the Arsenal defender and stuck out a leg to cut off that pass. The ball came off Beto’s shin and deflected up the pitch to Nketiah, who was coming back from an offside position.
VAR review: Doucoure was clearly looking for a penalty in this situation. He moved to the ball to the right, but continued his run in a straight line to ensure he collided with Saliba.
The France international had withdrawn his leg and Doucoure had attempted to use that to win a penalty, but there was no momentum from Saliba — and we’ll see a similar kind of situation in the Newcastle vs. Brentford match.
VAR review: This penalty was only awarded after a period of deliberation between referee Craig Pawson and his assistant. Aaron Hickey plays a back-pass to Flekken, with Gordon closing down the ball. The Brentford goalkeeper knows he cannot handle it, which creates indecision. He has only two options: attempt to kick the ball clear or guard it out of play and allow Newcastle to have a corner kick.
Flekken goes for the second option, effectively opting not to make a challenge, but Gordon has closed down the space and goes to ground.
VAR review: A strange one on first view, because it appears a strong penalty claim as Mbeumo has his hand above shoulder height. But there are four exceptions the VAR can take into account.
Most importantly, Kieran Trippier actually nods the ball onto the head of Mbeumo, and it then deflects onto the arm of the Brentford player — it wasn’t a direct handball.
Secondly, the proximity of Mbeumo to the play off the ball, plus that he had his back to it. And finally, the expected position for the body in jumping for the ball.
It was a good review from the VAR to intervene and advise the referee he should cancel the spot kick.
