Michael Salisbury will be working this afternoon as a showdown between Liverpool’s video assistant referee and Arsenal. Salisbury was Chelsea’s controversial 2-0 victory val against Fulham at Stamford Bridge yesterday. The decision to choke Fulham’s Josh King’s goal, which would have made it 1-0 to the visitors, sparked a contest and left cottage boss Marco Silva Furious.
PGMOL admits that VAR intervention is an error. John Brooks was chosen to take over Merseyside’s Chief Val responsibility from Salisbury. Fulham appeared to have grabbed a 1-0 lead against Chelsea when the 18-year-old Academy Product King spotted the net in the 21st minute at Stamford Bridge. However, the strike was banned by a “careless challenge” by Rodrigo Muniz during the build-up.
Judge Robert Jones supported Salisbury’s rating after considering pitch-side monitors, but the decision sparked controversy if Muniz accidentally stepped on Trevochalova’s toe.
And PGMOL has since admitted that the incident did not meet the high bar due to VAR intervention. It is believed that Howard Webb contacted Fulham directly to discuss the matter.
“It’s incredible how you ban such a goal,” Fulham’s manager Silva told TNT Sports after the match. “We have a meeting with the referees and the people we all want to win. VAR is not here to re-reference the game.
“I’m going to be punished so I hope I don’t say anything more. I want to be a touchline next week to help the team. I don’t want to be fined. But that was a difficult start to the season with some decisions.
“I want to explain a lot. The first goal – an extra 8 minutes. After the first corner, it was already nine minutes. It’s time to stop the game. That’s the rule.
“I asked the judge and he said because we lost time. But I checked for eight minutes. The game didn’t stop. It’s very difficult. I make a mistake, the judge makes a mistake, but when it’s black or white, we can’t see what’s not there.”
Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carrager wrote to X: Former TNT expert Rio Ferdinand wrote, “I’ll kill this young man’s moment.”
Another former Premier League football player, Shay posted, “The goal of Josh King First @premierleague is by no means a foul, taken away by Val, a complete accidental challenge from Muniz.”
