Premier League umpire Chief Webb responds to criticisms from Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta and Bukayo Saka, claiming that the decision to overturn the penalty given to gunners in Newcastle is correct. He labelled it as a “clear error” by referee Jarred Gillett. After a victory over the Magpie, Arteta and Saka questioned the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) when Nick Pope defeated Victor Gyoker at St. James Park in the first half.
Initially, Gillett signaled the penalty before advised Var to confirm the incident on a pitch-side monitor. Checking the footage revealed that the Pope touched the ball before colliding with Gyoker. This was deemed sufficient to reverse the initial decision. After some replays, Gillett announced there was no penalty. “After the review, the Newcastle goalkeeper played the ball and there were no fouls,” he said. “The final decision is a drop ball.”
Arteta and Saka suggested in their post-match comments that it was not a “clear and obvious error.” However, Webb provided a detailed explanation of why it was, stating that Gillett had not seen the contact at first.
“Var checks for penalties,” Webb said officials from the Premier League match on the Mic’d Up Show. “When he does, he clearly sees Gyoker reach the ball and thrusts forward a little, but importantly, Nick Pope moves forward with his right foot and is deviating from the direction the ball is in, so he can get a very clear touch on the ball.
“The Pope then plantes his feet in the ground. He doesn’t drive it to Gyökeres. There’s a clear gap between the two players after Pope plays the ball and the two players get together very normally.
“The action by the Pope is normal, not reckless, it’s just a kick out towards the ball, the ball deviates and does not contact the player until the ball plays. The contact happens quite normally then so VAR uses it well to intervene to show what actually happened.
“I think the deviation is very clear. You look at that touch-by-gyoker and you see Pope’s right leg coming in. You touch the ball and move the ball in a different direction than the one that was previously in. There’s a separation between the ball and the gyoker when he places his foot on the ground.
“There is no contact at that point. Only after the Pope plays the ball. So it was a good challenge by the Pope and there was a key part in that the judge did not recognize that contact by the Pope in real time. His own judgment and that judgment, yes, I saw the touch, so it wasn’t a foul, I start with the ball that was dropped.
“We are working with the referee’s call. It’s an important principle in the Premier League, and the referee will make the call on the field. When VAR sees the footage, he sees that there is absolutely no reason to support his decision, and there is no mix of considerations, which is a clear mistake.
“This shows the Pope reaching out with his feet and plays the ball cleanly without contacting the other person. In fact, he’s not actually in contact with the other person.
“The judges were not aware of that touch. It’s important for the VAR to look at it and consider it a clear mistake, and I agree with VAR’s intervention.
“So the referee can go to the screen and look at the full sequence, see that touch, and see the usual play action by the Pope and make sure the penalty was cancelled correctly.”
