Was there a VAR error on Southampton's offside goal? And should Arsenal's first goal have stood?

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.

In this week’s VAR Review: Why did Southampton have a goal ruled out for offside at Brighton & Hove Albion, and why did the check take so long? Plus, should Arsenal‘s opening goal at West Ham United have been disallowed? And all the other talking points from the games.

Possible onside: Armstrong when Archer scored

What happened: Southampton thought they had taken a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute when Ryan Fraser played a cross into the area from the left flank, and Cameron Archer side-footed the ball into the net. As the Saints players went off to celebrate, there was a delay of around 29 seconds before the on-field officials decided to disallow the goal for an offside offence by Adam Armstrong. The VAR, Jarred Gillett, checked to see if the goal could be awarded. (Watch here)

VAR decision: No goal.

VAR review: Timber leaned into Paquetá, and it did seem to affect the way the West Ham United player was able to challenge for the aerial ball. So there’s a clear case for a foul, though Paquetá’s protests were not particularly strong nor supported by his teammates.

This is a 50/50 call in the Premier League, but is unlikely to be given on a VAR review. In the other top European leagues it’s more likely to lead to an intervention to disallow the goal.

VAR review: For the VAR, we can compare this to the spot kick given to AFC Bournemouth at Wolves in the first minute, when Evanilson burst into the area and went down under a challenge from Toti Gomes. Referee Peter Bankes pointed to the spot and it was checked by the VAR, Paul Tierney.

VAR review: Goalkeepers obviously have a right to come and challenge for an aerial ball, and there is inevitably going to be some form of collision. On rare occasions that oversteps the mark, especially when it involves making contact with an opponent’s head in way which is deemed reckless — which was the case with Fabianski, who was booked.

Last month, Arsenal fans were left enraged when they weren’t awarded a penalty at Internazionale in the Champions League in similar circumstances. Mikel Merino jumped for the ball with goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who made contact with the Arsenal player’s head in attempt to punch clear. Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs signalled for a corner, believing Sommer had touched the ball, and that was supported by the VAR.

VAR review: Even with the small amount of contact from Ortega’s challenge, there was little controversy about this decision. The goalkeeper came out desperately trying to get a glove on the ball ahead of Diaz, but it was the Liverpool player who got there first. Diaz could have avoided Ortega, but he is under no obligation to take evasive action to hurdle an opponent who has made a sliding challenge into his path. This is accepting contact, and not initiating it.

VAR review: Last weekend, Chelsea‘s Cole Palmer was on the receiving end of a poor challenge from Wilfred Ndidi. Like Cairney, the Leicester City player was booked by the referee (Andy Madley), but that decision wasn’t referred to the monitor by the VAR (Paul Tierney).

There’s a strong argument that both should have been red cards as both challenges came from behind with no prospect of being able to play the ball. But in the Premier League, with a high threshold for VAR intervention, Ndidi was able to escape with a yellow.

VAR review: Evanilson gets a toe to ball first, and was then kicked by Sá as he went to clear.

There is a comparison with Chris Wood‘s claim for a penalty in the Nottingham Forest vs. Ipswich Town game. Both Wood and Dara O’Shea got to ball at pretty much the same time, and the players kicked each other rather than there being a foul by either.

Evanilson effectively won possession off the Wolves goalkeeper, who had been slow to react to the closing down from the striker. And once Evanilson moved the ball past Sá, the goalkeeper was always going to be in trouble in this situation.

Verdict: Last season, one of the logged VAR errors was a failure to intervene and give a penalty to Brentford when Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner kicked Yoane Wissa when attempting to make a clearance. On that occasion the VAR, Michael Oliver, decided it was a normal coming together but the referee should have been advised to give a spot kick. So, this shows improved decision making, though by a different VAR.

Possible penalty: Cajuste challenge on Wood

What happened: There was another appeal for a spot kick from Chris Wood in the 65th minute. The striker chased down an overhit pass into the area from Morgan Gibbs-White, and went down after a challenge from Jens Cajuste. It seemed to be a fair claim for a penalty at first, and was looked at by the VAR.

VAR decision: No penalty.