VAR Errors Highlighted in Premier League Review
The Key Match Incidents panel has identified two errors made by the video assistant referee during the latest round of Premier League matches.
On August 30, Fulham's Josh King's goal in their match against Chelsea was disallowed, while Wolves were denied a penalty in their loss to Everton.
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), stated last week that the decision to rule out King’s goal was a "misjudgement."
King scored in the 22nd minute, but the goal was overturned after a lengthy VAR review due to a foul by Rodrigo Muniz during the buildup. Muniz was found to have stepped on the foot of Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah near the halfway line.
The panel, which reviews significant refereeing decisions in the Premier League weekly, concluded that VAR official Michael Salisbury incorrectly intervened, leading referee Rob Jones to disallow the goal. The panel expressed unanimous support for the original on-field decision to allow the goal.
Additionally, the panel determined that Wolves should have been awarded a penalty for a foul by Iliman Ndiaye on Hugo Bueno during their 3-2 defeat to Everton. Three of the five panel members agreed that VAR official Craig Pawson's choice not to intervene was erroneous.
They noted, "The contact made is careless, and the panel felt a penalty should have been awarded, with VAR intervening due to a clear and obvious error in not penalizing the foul." Currently, Wolves sit at the bottom of the table without a point.
Chelsea secured a 2-0 victory over Fulham, with goals from Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez, both scored after King’s goal was disallowed. Fulham remains winless after three league matches, and manager Marco Silva expressed disbelief over the disallowed goal, stating, "How you disallow a goal like that is unbelievable. VAR is not here to re-referee the game."
Following the controversy, Salisbury was stood down as VAR for Liverpool's match against Arsenal the next day.
In their review, the panel reported a total of 18 VAR errors last season, the majority of which were due to missed interventions, with only two resulting in disallowed goals. The independent panel consists of three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative, and one member from the PGMOL board. They reviewed 35 incidents in game week three and noted that the correct outcome was achieved in 33 instances, including cases where VAR intervened.