Referees and VAR ruined Arsenal's match: a mistake that costs the championship.

Discussion on VAR's penalty decision

According to The Sun: The decision to cancel the penalty for Viktor Gyökeres raised many questions. Arsenal, referee Jared Gillett, in the opinion of many, mistakenly did not award a penalty kick after a foul by Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope. Although Pope did touch the ball, this does not exclude the foul.

'The penalty should not have been cancelled.'

Getty

Why did VAR intervene?

Gillett's decision did not seem obvious for VAR intervention. The contact between the players occurred after Gyökeres's pass to Pope, which led to a foul that seemed to be late.

Sometimes fouls are awarded when a player has won the ball, but then there is contact, so the touch in this case should not exclude the possibility of awarding a penalty.

A similar incident occurred earlier in the Arsenal - Brighton match when William Saliba received a penalty after winning a header.

The situation with Gabriel

Newcastle also appealed for a penalty when Elanga's pass hit Gabriel's hand in the penalty area, but the referee left the decision unchanged.

'It was not a penalty.'

In this case, the ball deflected off Elanga and hit Gabriel's hand, which was in a natural position. The proximity to the incident and the speed of the ball indicate the correctness of the referee's decision.

Comments on the referee's decision

It would seem strange if Gillett changed his decision upon review.

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