PGMOL and the Premier League are opening up discussions between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for key incidents this season. In episode nine instalment of "Match Officials Mic'd Up" in 2024/25, Howard Webb, chief operating officer at PGMOL, discusses five recent incidents.
Webb and Michael Owen go through the conversations between the match officials to give fans greater knowledge of how decisions are made. The officials on the pitch do not hear all the conversations from the VAR hub in Stockley Park.
The incidents covered are:
- Fulham's penalty appeal v Everton
- Jackson's red card v Newcastle
- Evanilson's red card v Man Utd
- Enciso's foul for penalty v Newcastle
- Newcastle's overturned penalty v Brighton
Fulham's penalty appeal v Everton
TV Info - Broadcasters
Incident: Fulham's Adama Traore attempts to cross the ball into the box but it is blocked by the arm of Everton's Vitalli Mykolenko. Referee Darren England issues a corner.
What the match officials did: England argues that Mykolenko's arm is in a natural position and the ball comes at him quickly. The VAR officials Michael Salisbury and Akil Howson say it is a handball and recommend a review of the decision. After checking the incident in the Referee Review Area (RRA), England maintains his his belief it is not a penalty and keeps to his initial decision of a corner to Fulham.
Owen: "I think it was the right decision. What do you think?"
Webb: "The VAR in this situation felt this was a handball offence otherwise he wouldn't have sent the referee to the screen. He felt the arm was extended away from the body in a way that was unnatural and not justifiable. The referee always reserve the right to keep their decision.
"We think in this situation, this was one of those occasions where the VAR has seen a little bit too much in terms of his judgment of the arm being away from the body.
"We think Mykolenko's arm is moving very naturally here as he closes down Traore, the arm actually comes down to make himself even smaller as opposed to bigger and it's from a very short distance. He has no chance to form an opinion to make a deliberate handball so we think it was correct not to give a penalty."
Jackson's red card v Newcastle
TV Info - Broadcasters
Incident: Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson catches Newcastle United's Sven Botman with his elbow when going to challenge for a ball.
What the match officials did: Referee John Brooks awards Newcastle a free-kick and a yellow card to Jackson. However, after review the VAR officials England and Natalie Aspinall both believe it is a red-card offence and send Brooks to the RRA. After review Brooks sends Jackson off for serious foul play.
Owen: "In terms of Jackson looking where he is about to place his arm, how much do you take that into consideration? How much do officials when they're looking at what to what to dish out?"
Webb: "I want to say that we thought this was a really good intervention by the VAR to recommend a review for a red for Nicolas Jackson. Of course, when players are competing for aerial balls, some contact will happen and sometimes accidental contact can happen when a player is jumping and their arms are flailing.
"The important point around Jackson looking at Botman is that it tells us that he's focusing on Botman's position. So when then the arm gets thrust into the side of the face of Botman, it's really difficult to say that's an accident.
"And with this one, he's not jumping up towards the ball, he's jumping into Botman with that leading arm, having known where Botman was because he's looked at him a couple of times. And then there's real force because of that dynamic of him moving into Botman with that leading arm and you see Botman's head go backwards on the contact.
"So serious foul play needs excessive force or brutality, We think that exists in this situation, a dangerous position for Botman to be in. And therefore we think the red card is the right outcome and a good rectification of the incorrectly awarded yellow card."
How does Jackson's incident compare with Mings v Bournemouth?
In Matchweek 36, Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings also makes contact with his elbow on AFC Bournemouth player Alex Scott.
TV Info - Broadcasters
Webb explains why the Villa defender was not sent off.
Owen: "A similar incident, an arm into the face, but he doesn't look and he knows where his man is. He's almost protecting with his leg and his arm. But what do you think the difference is? Because there was no card shown here."
Webb: "I suspected that comparisons will be made because in this situation there's an arm making contact with the head like we saw in the previous one.
"In this one, Alex Scott from Bournemouth moves in from behind Mings. Mings has got possession of the ball and he's aware that there's somebody behind him and he steps across the arm comes up. We think this is an action that's more akin to protecting space as opposed to looking at the player and then throwing an arm towards the player.
"When you watch this at full speed, the arm comes up at full speed but it doesn't actually really get thrust back towards the player."
Evanilson's red card v Man Utd
TV Info - Broadcasters
Incident: Bournemouth striker Evanilson goes to ground in an attempt to tackle Manchester United's Noussair Mazraoui, he instead catches the defender and commits a foul.
What the match officials did: Referee Peter Bankes issues Evanilson a yellow card as he believes the striker catches Mazraoui on the side of his foot. However, the VAR believes that Evanilson is lunging in and that both of his feet are off the ground. The VAR sends Bankes to the RRA and after review Bankes issues Evanilson a red card. The red card was later rescinded following an appeal by Bournemouth.
Owen: "I think it's important to highlight that after appeal that red card was rescinded. Do you agree with the red card changing and Evanilson being able to play in the next game?"
Webb: "We thought the yellow card that was shown on the field should have stood. We don't think this is one that the VAR should have got involved in. We think it was a misread by the VAR to recommend a review.
"There's an element of recklessness in the way that Evanilson goes into the challenge. He goes in at quite a bit of pace and you do end up with some contact from the studs on Mazraoui. But we think it should have stayed at a yellow card and the red card was incorrect.
"And if that slip hadn't happened, then the final contact wouldn't have happened in the way that it did. Even then when that happens and Evanilson ends up on his back there's not so much force."
Enciso's foul for a penalty v Newcastle
TV Info - Broadcasters
Incident: Newcastle winger Jacob Murphy goes to ground in the penalty area running after the ball after being pulled back by Brighton & Hove Albion's Julio Enciso on the shoulder.
What the match officials did: Referee Michael Salisbury initially turns down Newcastle’s appeals for a penalty. The VAR sends Salisbury to review the incident in the RRA. After review Salisbury changes the on-field decision and awards a penalty to Newcastle.
Owen: "So quite clear the arm tugs the shoulder. Are you happy that meets the criteria for an on-field review?"
Webb: "Yeah, we thought this was a good one. We've seen some situations which are much more debatable, where the VAR stayed out, where there's contact, where players are either mutually holding or there's a small touch, but it's not really impactful and there's an exaggeration by the attacker.
"For example, in this situation, as the ball's played into the penalty area, the Newcastle player, Murphy, has got position on Enciso’s got no chance of getting that ball and maybe instinctively reaches out, grabs Murphy's shoulder. You can see it spins him, prevents him from moving on to the ball.
"The VAR does a really good job of checking different angles to ensure that contact continues into the penalty area. And we always penalise where a holding offence ends, in this case a penalty kick. So we thought it was sustained. We thought it was impactful. We thought it was a clear penalty kick and there were no considerations for us not to get involved.
"The VAR goes through certain considerations. If there's a mix of considerations, we'll stay out."
Newcastle's overturned penalty v Brighton
TV Info - Broadcasters
Incident: Newcastle are awarded a penalty after Joe Willock goes down following a challenge from Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke.
What the match officials did: Referee Craig Pawson awards a spot-kick to Newcastle. The VAR reviews the incident and deems Van Hecke to have made minimal contact that was not sufficient for a penalty. Willock is cautioned for simulation.
Owen: "I think this is a great clip in terms of what VAR is here for. Not only do they get the decision right, and I can almost have a little bit of sympathy for the referee, but there's a man in between the challenge. When I first saw it, I thought it looks like a penalty. And not only that, but a yellow card for simulation. So the whole chain of events looked like it worked there."
Webb: "When you watch the clip, you can see that the referee is desperately trying to get that in-between view. The view between Van Hecke and Willock, which is really useful in understanding if there's contact and if there is who creates the contact, and he gets his view blocked by another Brighton defender.
"And that's obviously problematic for him, because then he's making a decision without having that clear view that you're seeking so desperately.
"And he thinks he's seen enough to give a penalty as Van Hecke goes to ground. It's always risky when you go to ground, he gives the penalty.
"The VAR obviously checks all penalties and you're right, I think people really like this use of VAR to not only overturn the incorrectly awarded penalty, which is a big moment in the game, but also to quite rightly give a yellow card to the player that's gone to ground without contact.
"In this case it's Willock who has gone down looking to win the penalty and the VAR is able to look at a number of angles and clearly see that that's not a foul by Van Hecke."
Glossary of terms
VAR: Video Assistant Referee; AVAR: Assistant Video Assistant Referee; RO: replay operator; APP: attacking phase of play.
UK users can watch the whole "Match Officials Mic'd Up" video on Sky Sports and TNT Sports. International users can access the full video with their local rights-holder.
Also in this series