Arsenal may have secured a vital three points against Newcastle United, but many are still aggrieved at one of the big decisions of the match
Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has labelled the VAR penalty drama between Newcastle United and Arsenal as “farcical”. The Gunners overcame the Magpies 2-1 in a dramatic contest at St. James’ Park.
Mikel Arteta could not stop smiling when the victory was secured, but he was furious when their penalty was overturned in the first half. The Gunners thought they had a spot-kick when Viktor Gyokeres was brought down by Nick Pope.
However, after a VAR check, the decision was reversed, as Pope was deemed to have got a strong enough touch on the ball. PGMOL chief refereeing officer Howard Webb recently backed Jarred Gillet’s decision to change his mind after consulting the VAR, claiming it was the right decision.
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The ex-Premier League official’s explanation did not go down well with Keys, who argued there is a lack of consistency. To make his case, he referred to the penalty the north Londoners gave away to Brighton in January.
Last season, William Saliba collided heads with Joao Pedro moments after making contact with the ball. With the decision provoking a huge debate amongst the football world, Webb supported referee Anthony Taylor who decided to award the penalty.
Writing on Twitter, Keys, after looking back on that incident, said: “So according to Webb it’s ‘good use of VAR’ because Pope got a touch on the ball. But when Saliba got a good head on the ball before catching Joao Pedro he said ‘That touch on the ball doesn’t negate the possible award of a penalty.’ It can’t be both. What a farce.”
Explaining the call at St. James’ Park, Webb said: “So he [the referee] checks the penalty, makes sure that the decision is not clearly wrong. When he does that, he clearly sees that Gyokeres gets to the ball and pokes it a little bit forward.
“But then, importantly, Nick Pope also gets a very clear touch on the ball as he steps forward with that right foot and deviates the direction that the ball is going. That hadn’t been appreciated on the field by the referee.
“Pope then plants his foot on the ground. He doesn’t drive it forward into Gyokeres. There’s a gap, clearly a gap, between the two players after Pope has played the ball, and then the two players come together quite normally.
“The action by Pope is normal. It’s not reckless. It’s just a kick out towards the ball. The ball deviates. No contact on the player until the ball has been played away and then the contact happens fairly normally.
“So, not a foul, and therefore a good use of the VAR to intervene to show the referee what really happened.”
Ultimately, the overturned penalty didn’t prove costly for Arsenal, as late goals from Mikel Merino and Gabriel cancelled out Nick Woltemade’s first half header. The victory saw them move within two points of current table-toppers Liverpool, who were beaten 2-1 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
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