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Video assistant referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made and are they correct?
This season, we take a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.
Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a Premier League matchday.
Referee: Stuart Attwell
VAR: Craig Pawson
Time: 67 minutes
Incident: Possible penalty for Manchester United
What happened: On 67 minutes, Bournemouth defender Adrien Truffert made upper-body contact with Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo, resulting in the United player going to ground, claiming he had been pulled by Truffert. The incident was more controversial because Bournemouth scored their equalizing goal in the immediate breakaway following the penalty appeals being waved away by referee Attwell. VAR cleared the decision as a correct on-field outcome.
VAR decision: The referee’s call of no penalty for a challenge by Truffert was checked and confirmed by VAR — with it deemed the contact was not sufficient for a foul.
VAR review: Given that Bournemouth scored immediately following this penalty appeal by United, the check by VAR needed the profile of an official check as opposed to a background check, which would have been the case if the goal hadn’t occurred.
VAR Pawson would have already begun his initial checks on the Truffert challenge by the time the ball had hit the back of United’s net and would likely have been comfortable with Attwell’s on-field decision of no penalty. However, now with a Bournemouth goal to also check, the process would have started again, and the entire phase of play replayed and checked. Pawson was happy that the contact by the Bournemouth defender did not meet the threshold for a foul and confirmed the on-field decision of no penalty as a correct call.
Verdict / Insight: The arm by Truffert was considered normal contact by referee Attwell, given the dynamic of the two players moving across the area in a relatively neutral position in the penalty area, and I agree.
In real time, I was comfortable that Amad, on feeling contact, went to ground, completely unnecessarily, trying to win a penalty as opposed to it being a foul action by the Bournemouth defender. The reaction of his teammates also told a story. It was a poor decision by Amad to go to ground and was not worthy of a penalty kick.
Premier League
Time: 78 minutes
Incident: Penalty awarded to Bournemouth and Harry Maguire sent off for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO)
What happened: Referee Attwell further frustrated Manchester United when he pointed to the spot, penalizing Maguire as he appeared to commit a holding offense on Bournemouth’s Evanilson, pulling him to the ground as he was in a clear opportunity to score. The foul was also deemed a DOGSO offense by Attwell, and he sent Maguire off.
VAR decision: The referee’s call of a penalty and red card for Maguire for the DOGSO was checked and confirmed by VAR — with it deemed to be a holding offense with no attempt to challenge for the ball.
VAR review: Checking the replays for the Evanilson penalty and Maguire red card was a straightforward review for Pawson. Remember, the on-field decision will always be upheld unless there is video evidence that shows a clear error by the refereeing team.
Referee Attwell’s communication described the actions by Maguire as a clear holding offense, with no attempt to play the ball and his actions stopping an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The replay review showed nothing different, with both the penalty and subsequent red card deemed correct by Pawson. He checked and cleared both outcomes.
Verdict / Insight: The decision to award Evanilson a penalty and a subsequent red card to Maguire has certainly created noise, with those questioning the level of contact made by Maguire, and if it impacted the attackers to stay on his feet and shoot at goal.
When you break down the detail of the action by Maguire, it’s difficult to argue against him being penalized, as it was a clear and deliberate action to disrupt and even stop his opponent from possibly scoring, while making absolutely no attempt to play the ball.
The level of the hold can be debated; however, the action, evidence of contact and his motivation are obvious, so I am comfortable with the outcome of a penalty and red card in this situation. Equally, given all the evidence on the replays, this is not a decision I would expect a VAR intervention.
