The Gunners survived a nervy VAR review that could have decided the fate of the Premier League title race |
| The entire season could be decided by one VAR call. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images |
Referees’ chief Howard Webb has insisted the VAR was right to rule out West Ham United’s late equalizer against Arsenal after a lengthy review which also featured checks on a number of other incidents.
Callum Wilson fired home in the fifth minute of stoppage time and looked to have sealed a 1–1 draw for the Hammers—a result that would have given Manchester City a route back into the title race—only for a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya by West Ham’s Pablo to be detected after a five-minute review.
“Is it a foul on the goalkeeper? Categorically yes,” Webb told Match Officials Mic’d Up.
“We’ve said all season that if a goalkeeper is impeded by an opponent grabbing or holding their arms and therefore they can’t do their job, they’ll be penalized. We’re not just talking about contact with goalkeepers, we’re talking about a specific type of contact when the goalkeeper’s arms or hands are being interfered with, stopping them doing their job.
“So when you see the best angle on this, you’ll see that that’s what happens from Pablo. And on the video, it’s clear and it’s obvious, and it happens early. And even though it’s not clear and obvious to the referee, because he’s got a huge group of players in a penalty area, and it’s difficult to see, when the VAR sees this, of course, they have to get involved.”
VAR Audio Highlights Regular Issue for Arsenal
 |
| The VAR review revealed a handful of other concerns. | Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images |
For rival fans, the sight of Arsenal benefiting from such a decision was a real source of frustration, with the Gunners well-known to be willing to push the boundaries of physical contact when it comes to their own set-pieces.
That was evident even in the incident involving Raya. Pablo, guilty of fouling the Arsenal goalkeeper, is simultaneously being held by Leandro Trossard, while Declan Rice’s decision to grab Hammers defender Konstantinos Mavropanos also needed reviewing by VAR.
VAR Transcript From Crucial Incident
VAR: It’s literally just a possible foul on Raya, what I’m seeing in terms of that.
AVAR: And to make sure he doesn’t have it in his hand.
VAR: For me, there is a foul, potential foul, with the arm. His hand is holding his arm down. That’s impactful, for me. The left arm is holding, is across the body. He’s across the head and he’s holding the left arm of Raya, which impedes his ability to get to the ball properly.
VAR: It doesn’t look that impactful from [an alternative] angle.
AVAR: You’ve got that [Rice on Mavropanos] straight behind him as well, look.
VAR: Yeah. But this happens before. Is it impactful on the goalkeeper that? Go back to the second angle you showed me. Give us a split screen.
AVAR: I don’t like Trossard not facing the ball. I agree, it’s impactful. It’s just everything else that’s going on as well. Let’s say we’re saying that’s a foul, then what are we saying about Trossard’s actions on the same player? What are we saying about Declan Rice behind?
VAR: He still gets a hand to the ball, doesn’t he? When he’s getting to the ball. I think, for me, we send [the referee] for an on-field review to look at the possible foul on the goalkeeper, and then we get him to look at the other incidents as well. I think that’s the best decision in terms of this.
VAR: Chris [Kavanagh, referee], I’m going to recommend an on-field review for a possible foul on the goalkeeper, but there are some other incidents to look at while you’re at the monitor as well.
VAR: The left arm of Pablo comes across Raya and holds on to the left arm of Raya as he goes to win the ball.
REF: I can see the clear holding on him across.
VAR: But then I’m just going to show you some other angles on that incident, of players.
AVAR: You’ve got Declan Rice and you’ve got Trossard.
REF: I don’t know what you’re trying to show me mate, give me a clue.
VAR: Trossard on Pablo. Just if you look at Trossard on Pablo ... give me a better angle on that.
REF: I don’t think there’s much in that at all, I’m happy with that. That’s nothing.
VAR: O.K., and then if you just want to consider the actions of Declan Rice on Mavropanos at the back. But the foul happens on the goalkeeper before.
REF: Before it, so ... after review, West Ham number?
VAR: 19.
REF: 19. Foul. Just confirm his number again for me?
VAR: 19. Confirmed.
 |
| Declan Rice’s actions were also under review. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images |
“When they’re trying to identify what should be penalized, they’re looking for situations that are impactful,” Webb continued. “They’re looking for mainly those situations which prevent the player from doing their job, moving, and particularly when that impacts their ability to play the ball.
“A key player in this moment, of course, is the goalkeeper, who has got a unique ability to use his hands. And in what we see in this situation, different to the other situations around the penalty area, is that the goalkeeper can’t do that job because of that very clear action by the attacker, preventing him from putting his arm up.
“There are other pieces of contact from other players, from Arsenal players too, but the most significant contact undoubtedly is that on the goalkeeper. [It] stops him from doing something pretty routine, catching the ball. The arm is across the neck, it’s on his arm. He can’t put his arms up, and we’ve said that we’ll penalize that. And we’ve been consistent in that particular aspect.”
Physicality to Be Reviewed After Season
 |
| Howard Webb promised a review of the issue. | Charles McQuillan/FIFA/Getty Images |
Arsenal are by no means the only culprits of excessive physicality. The issue is accepted to spread wide across the Premier League, with Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hürzeler recently enlisting the help of a Mixed Martial Arts fighter to help navigate the penalty-box duels.
Webb confirmed further conversations would be had at the end of the season to address policing of these issues in the future.
“We consult all the time with the clubs, with the fan groups, with a range of other stakeholders about the type of game that they want to see and how they want us to officiate it,” Webb concluded.
“This season’s been a little bit more unique than previous ones about the number of contacts in the penalty area, and it does create a challenge for the officials.
“We’ll certainly continue consulting with all of the people I mentioned earlier about the type of game they want to see, because we have seen more involvement from set-piece coaches bringing players together in these areas, looking for those marginal gains. But we need to be vigilant. We need to identify those clear actions that are impactful.
“We’ve penalized more holding penalties than we did last year, but we’ve missed some as well.”
- Tom Gott
