Possible red card: Violent conduct by Pedro on Yarmoliuk What happened: João Pedro was pulled back by Yehor Yarmoliuk on the halfway line in the 75th minute, However, after he had broken free, Pedro swung an elbow in the direction of Yarmoliuk. Referee Andy Madley produced a yellow card for the Brentford player for stopping a promising attack, and took no action against Pedro. The VAR, Chris Kavanagh, checked for possible violent conduct by Brighton & Hove Albion forward Pedro.
VAR decision: No red card.
VAR review: “As I understand the rules, you can’t swing an arm to hit someone, whether you hit them or not,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank said.
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler had a different view: “For me it’s not a red card, why would it be a red card? You just try to get free from someone.”
Hürzeler’s comment was perhaps a more loose interpretation, but it’s clear the VAR believed this fell somewhere in between. Whatever Pedro’s true intentions, it’s clear this was a dangerous and violent action and football would expect a red card.
VAR review: Rogers got to the ball ahead of Pedro, who kicked the Aston Villa midfielder after getting there marginally later.
We’ve seen many similar situations that haven’t resulted in a penalty kick, including when Douglas Luiz kicked the foot of Arsenal ‘s Gabriel Jesus last season.
VAR review: We’ve seen regularly in recent seasons, and the goal would almost certainly be disallowed on the continent. As Palace boss Oliver Glasner said after the game: “It’s a foul all over Europe but not in England and not in the Premier League. It’s world-famous and No. 1 with this way of playing. Not every contact is a foul. It’s a regular goal for Premier League football.”
We’ll see goals ruled out by the referee for similar levels of contact, but it’s highly unlikely to happen through VAR.
VAR review: This was one of two VAR offside checks on Liverpool goals that seemed to take an age — a total of three minutes from the goal being scored to the referee signalling it would stand.
The second check took even longer, three minutes and 42 seconds to look at two situations and confirm Darwin Núñez committed an offside offence before Cody Gakpo put the ball in the net.
Both were correct on-field, and while subjective checks have become quicker it’s still these lengthy offside decisions which sap the life out of games. And with semi-automated offside technology now highly unlikely to arrive this season , it’s not going to change anytime soon.
The Salah check was worse because it was so unnecessary, going back some 18 seconds before the goal was scored.
Time doesn’t define an attacking phase, it’s about the general direction of play and if a defending team is set. That a Leicester player may have got a touch in attempting an interception wouldn’t reset the phase, it has to be controlled possession.
You could argue that the very first pass by Salah, played back down the touchline to Jones (who shortly afterward made a run into the box) should be reset the phase as the forward momentum had ended. And when scoring, Jones was making the eighth touch by a Liverpool player after Salah received the ball. In the Premier League, it’s exceptionally rare for the VAR to go so far back.
The second check, which supported Núñez being offside, caused confusion due to the image displayed. The ball was played by Salah, but because the Egyptian was ahead of the line drawn to Núñez many thought it couldn’t be offside.
The position of the player making the pass doesn’t matter. The only relevant factors are the attacking player who receives the ball, and then either the ball or the second-last opposition player.
Salah was reaching behind himself to play the pass, which meant he was stood over the line drawn to Núñez. But as Núñez was ahead of the ball, he had to be behind the second-last opponent — but he was marginally in front. Núñez then made an attempt to play the ball before it ran to Gakpo.
Verdict: While arguably a valid offside check by the VAR, Chris Kavanagh, it was stretching the protocol applied in the Premier League. The goal should have been allowed to stand without looking at Salah’s offside position.
BONUS BIT: There was a claim for offside against Salah in the victory over West Ham United on Sunday, when he moved toward a long ball over the top but left it for Luis Díaz before then receiving a pass to set up Gakpo to score.
A player cannot be offside simply by running; if they don’t touch the ball the judgement is always about impact on an opponent. Salah quickly changed his run, didn’t look to engage with the ball and didn’t have an opponent close, so there was no offside offence.
Possible red card overturn: Durán violent conduct on Schär What happened: Fabian Schär and Jhon Durán chased a long ball in the 31st minute. Schär got there first and played it out for a throw-in. As the two players landed on the ground, Durán caught the Newcastle United defender on the back with his foot. Referee Anthony Taylor took his time to make a decision before brandishing a red card for violent conduct. It was checked by the VAR. Graham Scott.
VAR decision: Red card stands.
VAR review: Quite often we’ll see situations like this, and usually a referee decides to issue a yellow card. When the decision then goes to VAR, it’s about being certain what the offending player’s intentions were: ergo, was it a natural collision or coming together, or did they know exactly what they were doing?
VAR review: It’s the first time the VAR has stepped in to cancel a red card this season, though an intervention was missed for Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes ‘ dismissal vs. Tottenham Hotspur .
Referee Smith felt there had been strong contact by Rodríguez on Walker-Peters’ shin, yet the replays quickly showed that the tackle stopped short there was minimal connection on the boot — it certainly didn’t endanger the safety of an opponent or have excessive force for serious foul play.
Verdict: Correct VAR intervention and the kind of clear error people expected VAR to concentrate on when it came into the game seven years ago.
There was minimal contact on the boot of Kyle Walker-Peters by Guido Rodríguez. BBC Some factual parts of this article include information provided by the Premier League and PGMOL.
