The VAR Review: Grealish penalty; Zinchenko, Havertz, Bowen offside calls

9:17 AM ET

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 in the Premier League: Ultimate guide

Possible penalty: Foul by Collins on Grealish

What happened: In the 42nd minute, Jack Grealish was inside the area and appeared to have taken the ball past Nathan Collins. He was caught on the calf by the Wolverhampton Wanderers player, but referee David Coote ignore the England international’s claims for a penalty and gave a goal kick.

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: This all comes back to something we have discussed many times — the exaggerated fall which doesn’t match the level of contact in the challenge. If Coote gives a penalty here, there is no chance it gets overturned (more on that in a moment.) But Grealish goes to ground in such a theatrical manner that it is always likely to be met with a dim view by the VAR, Darren England.

VAR review: Many will see the Grealish incident as far more of a penalty, but it’s all about the decision on the field of play carrying the weight.

We often see penalties given when a defending player has tripped an opponent even if they are not making a challenge, stepping across their run (see Ousmane Dembele on Angel Di Maria in the World Cup final.) Giving a spot kick in this situation isn’t a wrong decision, as the defending player is still responsible for impacting on the space of the attacker and causing a trip.

So while this may appear soft, there is no chance it will get overturned through a VAR intervention.

VAR review: The confusion came over the first possible offside, when Leandro Trossard fed the ball to Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukraine international then pulled the ball back for Odegaard to have the shot on goal.

The VAR feed is always available to the host broadcaster during a review, and it is the broadcaster alone which chooses when to switch to it. By the time Sky Sports had finished analysing the goal and showed the feed, the VAR, Michael Salisbury, had already calculated Zinchenko’s onside position and moved on to the possible offside against Nketiah.

So, on the face of it the impression was given that Zinchenko hadn’t been checked, when in truth it had been completed before viewers were shown the process.

There’s always a misconception that the VAR isn’t checking or reviewing something, but the feed is always available to the match commentators in the Premier League. In fact, the commentators can also hear what the VAR is saying to the referee (but they cannot hear the referee, so only one side of the conversation.)

Nketiah, meanwhile, was clearly being played onside by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Possible penalty: Foul by Thomas on Welbeck

What happened: In the 51st minute with the score 1-1, Danny Welbeck went down in the area under a challenge from Luke Thomas. The striker appealed for a penalty but the referee, Thomas Bramall, waved away the appeals (watch here.)

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: The question is not whether there was contact by Thomas on Welbeck, that’s not in doubt, but if it’s enough to be deemed a clear and obvious error by the referee.

Two seasons ago, Welbeck won a penalty after minimal contact on the boot from a challenge by Liverpool‘s Andy Robertson. Like Mahrez, this was later used as an example of a soft penalty with an exaggerated reaction which shouldn’t be awarded.

Here, the level of contact from Thomas is probably similar, the difference being this was a sweeping action by the Leicester City defender which definitely could be the cause of the striker falling like he did.

VAR review: The kind of offside decision which would be very difficult for an assistant to identify in real time, but should always be picked up by the VAR.

Even though most of his body is behind the ball, Havertz has his left foot ahead of it when Silva takes the shot, and with no defender in sight it’s a very simple offside call for the VAR, John Brooks. The ball rebounding off the post is no different to a goalkeeper making a save, and doesn’t reset the offside phase.

Possible foul: Elyounoussi on Ramsey before Ward-Prowse goal

What happened: Southampton took the lead in the 63rd minute when James Ward-Prowse scored from close range. Jacob Ramsey had gone down in the area just before, and there was a check for a possible foul in the buildup.

VAR decision: Goal disallowed.

VAR review: Mohammed Elyounoussi had an arm on the back of Ramsey, but it was contact on the Aston Villa player’s boot which led to the review.

In situations like this, it’s always worth considering whether a penalty would have been awarded if the roles were reversed. I think we can safely say it wouldn’t have been.

VAR review: It’s difficult to tell from the available television replays, which are from a distance and don’t clearly show where the ball hits Ogbonna. The angle behind the goal is also not good enough to provide the evidence, as Ogbonna has his back to the camera.

VAR review: After Zouma gets a touch on the ball it glances off defender James Tarkowski, but this would not be deemed a deliberate play by the defender to reset the offside phase.

Was Bowen offside? The answer is we just don’t know, either way. Tarkowski’s boot is obscured by the body of Michail Antonio on this image, and there wasn’t another camera angle which allowed the VAR to map all players correctly.

It means the offside lines couldn’t be applied to make the decision, so the on-field call of onside stands. The likelihood is Bowen is just being played onside by the boot of Tarkowski, but it’s better to have the evidence rather than just go with the on-field decision.

We saw a similar kind of offside situation in Nottingham Forest‘s 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth, with Sam Surridge just about level with the ball before he scored from close range after a pass from Brennan Johnson. As there is only a single green line to the ball on the VAR image, this shows the decision was so close both the attacking and defensive lines were touching and the Forest player was onside through the VAR tolerance level.

Possible penalty: Handball by Mitchell

What happened: In the 35th minute, Joelinton appealed for a penalty after his shot hit the hand of Tyrick Mitchell.

VAR decision: No penalty.