Arsenal’s disallowed goal against Manchester United in September was one of six Video Assistant Referee errors in the Premier League this season, reports ESPN. Gabriel Martinelli’s early strike at Old Trafford was overturned by VAR after Martin Odegaard’s weak challenge on Christian Eriksen was ruled a foul and highlighted to referee Paul Tierney.
According to ESPN, an independent panel comprised of three former players and one representative from both the Premier League and PGMOL examined the decision and concluded that ruling out the goal was a mistake.
‘On the camera, you can always make it look a little bit worse, but, for me, that was never a foul so it’s frustrating,’
Odegaard had said after the Gunners’ 3-1 defeat to the Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Chelsea benefited from a VAR error when West Ham’s late equaliser at Stamford Bridge was incorrectly ruled out for Jarrod Bowen’s challenge on Edouard Mendy in the lead up to the goalscoring passage of play.
Douglas Luiz’s red card for violent behaviour against Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was also among the six VAR mistakes, and Aston Villa were able to have his three-game suspension restored.
One more VAR error picked up by the independent panel was Tyrick Mitchell’s own goal, which was ruled out for a foul in the build-up by Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock on Crystal Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Brentford’s penalty against Nottingham Forest was overturned by VAR after goalkeeper Dean Henderson fouled winger Yoane Wissa.
Meanwhile, Lucas Digne’s handball that resulted in a penalty in Aston Villa’s 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace in August was also judged a VAR error. Both of these incidents have now been classed as errors by the Video Assistant Referee system.
