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
This week in the VAR Review: Should Marcel Sabitzer have been sent off? Should Thilo Kehrer have conceded a handball penalty at Spurs? Was Arsenal‘s third goal at Aston Villa offside? Was Nick Pope‘s red card correct? Should Erling Haaland have won a spot kick?
The exit of Lee Mason
There’s was plenty of “believe it when I see it” when Howard Webb arrived as PGMOL’s new chief of refereeing in December and promised greater transparency, accountability and a drive to improve standards, but the last two weeks have shown the former World Cup final referee to be true to his word.
After a smooth first month in the job, there’s no doubt the last couple of weeks have been rocky, but on the whole the general picture in the Premier League is not that different to the rest of the top leagues. Of course, that doesn’t excuse what happened on Feb. 11, when a catalogue of errors led to public apologies to Arsenal and Brighton for incorrect offside decisions and, ultimately, the departure of Lee Mason as one of three full-time VARs.
While Mason’s exit was inevitable after he committed six VAR errors in little more than half a season, that Webb has acted quickly to change the shape of his team rather than wait until the end of the season shows there will be no room for complacency.
Webb cannot keep reaching mutual agreements with underperforming officials, of course. There is a limited supply of referees of the standard to take charge of games at the top level, which is where his expanded team of coaches and mentors have to step up and close the gap between performances and expectation.
Everything hinges on the quality of decision-making on the pitch itself, which is why you don’t see as much controversy in competitions such as the Champions League, which only uses the best referees from across Europe. If referees are making confident and ultimately correct decisions, there’s less likelihood of VAR controversy.
Lee Mason’s 6 VAR errors
Aug. 28: Wolves vs. Newcastle
Missed penalty kick for Matheus Nunes shirt pull on Sean Longstaff.
Sept. 3: Newcastle vs. Crystal Palace
Incorrectly ruled out a Tyrick Mitchell own goal for a foul in the build-up by Joe Willock on Vicente Guaita.
Sept. 4: Man United vs. Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli goal wrongly disallowed for a foul in the buildup by Martin Odegaard on Christian Eriksen.
Nov. 5: Nottingham Forest vs. Brentford
Wrongly awarded penalty (scored by Bryan Mbeumo) for a foul by Dean Henderson on Yoane Wissa.
Jan. 21: Leicester City vs Brighton
Missed penalty kick for Luke Thomas foul on Danny Welbeck
Feb. 11: Arsenal vs. Brenford
Missed Christian Norgaard offside before Ivan Toney‘s equaliser.
Possible red card: Sabitzer for challenge on Faes
What happened: In the 41st minute, Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer challenged Wout Faes for the ball, but mistimed his tackle and caught the Leicester City defender on the knee. Referee Stuart Attwell had already awarded a free kick for Wout Weghorst‘s foul on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall a second earlier.
VAR decision: No red card.
VAR review: It’s a classic example of how the positions of players on a 2D image can be misleading to the human eye. Because Rashford is ahead of the nearest defender, Timothy Castagne, and the other defender is in the middle of the field, making a judgement call on the position of the players is very difficult — which is the whole point of the Hawk-eye technology, it removes issues around the camera angle.
The tech is mapped individually to each Premier League pitch, taking into account variants such as the camber. Depending on the position and height of the calibrated camera, it may not look as though a line is straight, but all are produced automatically and how they are generated isn’t controlled by the VAR.
There’s a small green dot from the pitch line to Rashford’s toe as his front foot is just above the ground, and the line is draw to the outer arm of Faes as that the farthest forward point of his body.
Fans regularly argue that we’ll see another like this that’s given offside. And that’s correct, because every offside decision is unique. No two players are ever in the same position. Some situations will be onside, and others will be offside.
In VAR terms, this wasn’t even a close call. The “tolerance level,” or “margin of error,” didn’t need to be used — as shown by the presence of both the blue defensive live and the green attacker’s. If the “tolerance level” was required, just a green line to the defender would be displayed.
Possible penalty: Handball by Kehrer
What happened: In the 11th minute, Tottenham Hotspur were on the attack inside the West Ham United area. Richarlison tried to play a ball through to Harry Kane, but it hit the hand of Thilo Kehrer. Referee Michael Oliver turned down penalty claims (watch here.)
VAR decision: No penalty.
VAR review: This isn’t about the arm going down to support the body, a clause that would only apply if Kehrer was going to ground. It’s about proximity and a player’s arm being in an expected position for their movement.
The latest amendment to the handball law made it clear that “a player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation.”
VAR review: The question for the VAR, Stuart Attwell, is whether the presence of Edward Nketiah and Martin Odegaard prevented Martinez from “playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision.”
There is no doubt both players are offside, and in front of the goalkeeper. So why was the goal allowed to stand?
VAR review: Handling the ball outside the area by a goalkeeper isn’t an instant red-card offence. In fact, if it has no impact on a possible attacking move it won’t even be a yellow card. But this red card was a very easy decision.
Some Newcastle fans have claimed that Pope wasn’t “last man,” but there isn’t any qualification for this within the laws — it’s simply about denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Not to mention, of course, in an ordinary situation there would still be a goalkeeper in the net.
