VAR Controversies in Premier League: Red Cards and Penalty Decisions
Premier League video assistant referees (VAR) are facing ongoing issues regarding red card decisions.
Over the past two seasons, 15 of the 49 VAR errors (30.61%) have involved missed or incorrectly issued red cards for serious foul play or violent conduct. Brighton forward Diego Gomez's recent challenge on Liverpool's Florian Wirtz could mark the 16th such mistake, as it only resulted in a yellow card despite being a chest-high tackle.
This incident occurred during first-half injury time in Liverpool's 2-0 victory last Saturday. Referee Craig Pawson initially issued a yellow card to Gomez, and VAR Darren England reviewed the challenge. However, he determined that the challenge did not involve excessive force and therefore did not warrant an upgrade to a red card.
According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), 'serious foul play' is defined as a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or employs excessive force or brutality. While Gomez's challenge was executed from a standing position and did not appear to make full contact with Wirtz's chest, it raises questions about whether it endangered the opponent's safety.
To recount the sequence: Wirtz reached the ball before Gomez, who then raised his foot high into Wirtz's chest. The manner of the tackle, with studs leading and a straight leg, could be seen as unnecessary.
If both players had approached the challenge similarly, with high feet, a yellow card may have been more justifiable.
If the Premier League's key match incidents panel deems this a VAR error, it would be the second instance this season where Liverpool's opponents should have been reduced to ten men following a VAR review. Earlier in August, Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi should have been sent off for handling the ball as Hugo Ekitike was about to break through on goal.
England was also the VAR during a highly controversial incident last season involving Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, who received a red card against Wolves. Referee Michael Oliver misjudged the nature of the tackle and did not downgrade it to a yellow card upon VAR review.
This past weekend, Arsenal faced Wolves again at the Emirates, and there was a check for a red card on Hwang Hee-Chan's challenge against Lewis-Skelly. Hwang, while sliding into the challenge, appeared to be pulling out of it when he collided with Lewis-Skelly, with no studs or straight leg involved, making a yellow card a reasonable outcome in that case.
Was Brentford's Penalty Against Leeds Justified?
In a 1-1 draw on Sunday, a VAR review lasting three minutes resulted in the overturning of Brentford's penalty against Leeds. Referee John Brooks had initially awarded the penalty after ruling that Dango Ouattara was pulled back by Gabriel Gudmundsson, but it was later rescinded due to an offside call against Ouattara.
The question remains: did the foul occur before the offside? IFAB regulations state that if a player in an offside position is fouled before attempting to play the ball, the foul is penalized as if it occurred before the offside offense. This scenario has been seen multiple times in recent seasons.
One notable instance occurred in March 2019, when a pushed-over Harry Kane was awarded a penalty despite being offside. Similarly, in February 2024, Newcastle received a penalty against Bournemouth after Fabian Schar was pulled back while in an offside position.
On Sunday, Ouattara was running towards the ball, and similar to Kane's case, it could be argued that he did not actively contribute to his offside status prior to the foul. However, fans often find it difficult to accept that an offside player can benefit from such situations.
This controversy echoes the debate surrounding Arsenal's first goal against Wolves, which was awarded from a corner despite Bukayo Saka being offside. While Saka did not actively challenge for the ball, Wolves might argue that Toti Gomes' attempted header was influenced by Saka's positioning.
Gudmundsson's challenge was notably soft, and had Ouattara been onside, it likely warranted a VAR review to reconsider the foul. Typically, VAR checks the subjective elements of a foul, and if a review is deemed necessary, the referee is sent to the screen. The absence of such a directive suggests that VAR official Michael Salisbury cleared the foul.
Leeds also had a penalty claim denied at the start of the second half when Nathan Collins tugged back Dominic Calvert-Lewin. This was a more evident claim than the one against Gudmundsson, though it may not have met the threshold for a VAR penalty, it certainly would not have been overturned had it been awarded.