As a matter of priority, the league will review the contentious Video Assistant Referee decisions made at Chelsea and Newcastle’s yesterday’s games with referees’ body PGMOL.
The decision comes after Newcastle and West Ham were denied goals against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, respectively. Both teams thought they had scored, and the on-field referee confirmed the goals. After VAR, the goals were disallowed in each case.
Both decisions have been heavily criticised, with many arguing that the role of VAR is not to intervene and reverse questionable decisions that have already been made. The Hammers were denied a 90th-minute equaliser when Maxwel Cornet’s effort was ruled out for fouling Edouard Mendy in the build-up, a decision David Moyes described as “scandalous.”
“The goalkeeper comes to take it, and actually fumbles it out of his hands five or six yards, so he could never recover it. Then he acted as if he had a shoulder injury. I’m amazed that VAR sent the referee to see it.”
“It was a ridiculously bad decision. I’d question VAR as much as the referee, but the referee should have stuck to his own guns – there is no excuse for that not to be a goal, none whatsoever. The sad thing is this is the level of the weak refereeing at the moment,”
said Moyes, who claimed he was embarrassed for VAR official Jarred Gillett.
Meanwhile, Newcastle had what manager Eddie Howe described as a “perfectly good goal” against Palace ruled out. Tyrick Mitchell, a Palace defender, turned the ball into his own net, and referee Michael Salisbury ruled it out for a foul by Joe Willock on goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, though Newcastle felt Mitchell pushed the midfielder.
World Cup referee Michael Oliver ignored the advice of VAR in a game between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth, despite being asked to review a penalty decision on the pitchside monitor.
Instead, Oliver opted to stick with his initial call and award Forest the spot-kick for handball. Elsewhere, Leeds boss Jesse Marsch was sent off for his reaction to two penalty decisions that did not go his side’s way in a defeat by Brentford.
