Arsenal fans were unhappy that VAR did not intervene amid renewed offside controversy, but the Blues’ goal was checked and cleared.
Chelsea’s opening goal in the London derby against Arsenal was checked and cleared by VAR. Arsenal fans furiously accused video assistant referee John Brooks of missing a clear foul after Trevor Chalobah’s near-post header put Chelsea ahead.
The still image clearly shows Enzo Fernandes standing in an offside position when Charova took the header. Fernandes stands in front of Arsenal defender Cristian Mosquera, who was unable to clear the ball before it went into the net.
It could be seen as a new debate over whether a player in an offside position is considered to have interfered with play.
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There have been high-profile incidents at Liverpool in recent weeks, including when Andy Robertson was forced to stand in front of Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and saw Virgil van Dijk’s shot denied.
Robertson was deemed to have laid low and made an obvious move. Despite Dan Ndoye being in front of Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker, Nottingham Forest’s goal was settled the following week at Anfield.
A week later against Tottenham, it was Arsenal who benefited from Eberechi Eze’s goal, although three players were deemed to be in an offside position, although they did not obstruct Guglielmo Vicario’s vision.
The goal at Stamford Bridge was allowed after a VAR check determined that Fernandes had not influenced or interfered with the play. They clearly didn’t feel Fernandez was affecting Mosquera’s ability to play ball.
Arsenal fans may not necessarily agree, but it was checked and VAR didn’t miss it, but they didn’t think it was an offside call.
The offside law has come under scrutiny this season due to the subjective nature of the decision.
During the last edition of the Officials’ Mick Up Show, PGMOL chairman Howard Webb backed the decision to disallow Van Dijk’s goal, calling it a “subjective” decision.
But Webb said VAR would only intervene if there was a clear mistake. Webb added: “Once they make a call on the field, VAR’s job is to look at it and decide whether the offside result was clearly and clearly wrong.”
“VAR determined that the offside result was clearly and clearly correct and they did not take part in the offside.”
Arsenal’s defenders did not appeal, and despite a subsequent social media backlash against the decision, Mikel Arteta did not raise it as an issue in his post-match press conference, although he may not have realized it at the time.
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