Arsenal and Manchester City are locked in a fierce battle for the title, but the Gunners have been tipped off to a potentially costly mistake by the Premier League committee
A VAR error regarding Manchester City was revealed as the battle for the Premier League title with Arsenal became a close battle (Image: Getty)
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal were told Everton should have been awarded a penalty in their recent 3-3 draw with Manchester City after Bernardo Silva dragged Toffees star Marlin Rolle to the ground. The incident was not witnessed by referee Michael Oliver and VAR official Paul Howard was unable to intervene as he determined it had occurred before the corner was entered.
However, the Premier League’s Key Matches Committee believes the Toffees should have been awarded the spot-kick when David Moyes’ side were leading 3-2 at the time. City hit back with Jeremy Doku’s equalizer and claimed a share of the spoils. City’s blunder allowed the Gunners to regain top spot, but the draw means Pep Guardiola’s side now sit just two points behind Arsenal instead of three.
Arteta’s performance helped City win against already relegated Burnley on Monday night, helping them move back to five points behind City as they face Chelsea in the FA Cup. They are scheduled to face Bournemouth on Tuesday night in their penultimate game of the season and are still in the hunt for the title.
Moyes was furious at the decision not to award a penalty, saying at the time: “If no penalty is awarded, it’s completely free-for-all from now on.”
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All five members of the committee agreed with the Toffees manager and ruled that there was “an apparent sustained holding offense that continued even after the corner was turned and the ball entered play”. The committee is made up of five members: one from the Premier League, one from PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) and three former players or coaches.
VAR decisions have been controversial on several occasions recently, with West Ham United having their second-half equalizer against Arsenal canceled due to a foul on goalkeeper David Raya despite several players grappling in the box. The admission of a mistake in Everton’s game against City takes the total number of VAR errors to 23 this season, and marks the third time the Toffees have had a penalty denied due to review, including one in the 1-0 loss to Arsenal and the other in the 2-1 loss to West Ham United.
Moyes was furious after the defeat to the Hammers, and the ball hit West Ham midfielder Matheus Fernandes in the hand as he grappled with Tierno Barry in the box. “I’m a little surprised,” he said.
“I went to see them (the officials) and the VAR said he was grappling. Well, the kid who was marking him was grappling. He punched the ball. I was surprised they didn’t give it away.”
Pablo was adjudged to have fouled Raya before West Ham’s Wilson’s goal against Arsenal was ruled out (Image: Getty Images)
PGMOL boss Howard Webb told Match Officials Mic’d Up: “It’s an interesting situation, I agree with you. I’d like to say from the beginning that I think a penalty should have been awarded here against Fernandes. But I don’t think he really intended to handle the ball intentionally.”
“However, most penalties awarded without the intention of handling the ball are due to players being unnaturally large. They take a risk by putting their arms forward to block a shot or a cross, and they know that if the ball hits their arm or hand in that position, they will pay the price.”
“He doesn’t get unnaturally big here. He puts his arms out in front of him. I think he’s probably trying to prevent the attacker from turning around. But in doing that, he’s kind of knocking the ball away.”
“He can’t even see the ball, but Fernandes more or less knows where the ball is and it’s probably a deliberate action using his arm to do something, not to handle the ball. So I think we gave Fernandes too much benefit of the doubt here.”
“If you look at it very closely, I think the game is just expecting a penalty in this situation. We have to be consistent with our understanding of what the game expects, what the game expects. And I think a penalty was the right outcome in this situation. Instead of us trying to explain why we decided not to intervene, we should have let Fernandes explain what he was trying to do!”
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