We are entering the final days of the Premier League season. It has been a wonderful ride full of twists and turns but as usual, there has been a hint of controversy. The title race is all but over with Brighton’s big win at Arsenal, but the relegation scrap is not letting up.
The incident: Brighton take the lead with Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior on the ground. The goal is given.
Arsenal will feel hard done by in this situation. Evan Ferguson clearly steps on Kiwor but unfortunately for Arsenal, this is one of those situations where it is difficult for VAR to intervene because it is not a clear and obvious error.
The goal could only be disallowed if it could be proved that Ferguson had maliciously and intentionally stepped on the Arsenal defender. On the other side, if the refs had decided to disallow the goal the VAR also would not have been able to intervene. Arsenal were just on the wrong side of a subjective decision which swung the momentum away from them. However, it would be difficult to classify this as a clear and obvious error.
The incident: Harry Kane and Emi Martinez go after a through-ball, Martinez seems to get there first, but VAR shows otherwise, and a penalty is given.
Many observers felt that Kane exaggerated the contact and that this should have disqualified him from winning a penalty. Martinez gives away an easy penalty by diving in and not winning the ball. Once Kane is able to get the ball first and Martinez bowls him over it is an easy decision. Kane is within his rights to put his body between Martinez and the ball and the truth is it is an easy freekick anywhere else on the pitch so why should a penalty follow different rules. The VAR was used appropriately because the referee had mistaken who got the ball first and the penalty was duly and justly awarded.
The incident: Danny Ings scores for West Ham after the ball hits the post and is crossed back to him. The goal is disallowed for a handball as it hits Divin Mubama’s arm after the post.
I think this was a poor decision. The ball hitting Mubama’s arm is not intentional, and he does not score the goal. In addition, his arm is raised only to balance his body and protect him from hitting the post. As we have seen the handball is most relevant when it is by the goal scorer when it is accidental in the build-up, it has usually been let go. So this was a surprise. It was also very harsh as the ball coming off the post was from less than a yard out, Mubama would have had to have superhuman reflexes to move his arm out of the way in time. So for the referee to penalize him is harsh, to say the least