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: Farai Hallam
VAR: Darren England
Time: 37 minutes
Incident: Possible handball by Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera
What happened: Man City attacker Omar Marmoush cut back inside the Wolves defender. The ball seemingly struck the outstretched arm of Mosquera. Referee Hallam waved play on.
VAR decision: VAR Darren England felt that the Wolves defender’s left arm could have been in an unnatural position and recommended an on-field review for a possible penalty. Once at the screen, referee Hallam, on his Premier League debut, went to the monitor and decided to stick with his original decision that no handball offense had been committed by the Wolves defender.
Verdict: It is rare that a referee goes to the monitor and backs their own decision. For Hallam to do that on his Premier League debut takes guts.
Hallam is the first Premier League referee this season to stick with his own penalty call after going to the monitor. It’s just a shame that, in this instance, he was wrong to do so.
In my opinion, this was a correct intervention by VAR. The pictures clearly show that the Wolves defender’s arm was in an unnatural position at the moment the ball struck.
This incident met the following criteria of a handball offense in law:
• A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalized.
I’m sure Hallam will reflect on his review process post-match, as this was a clear handball offense given the current guidance and interpretation.
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