Howard Webb, the new head of refereeing for the Premier League, had plenty to say not too long ago. As part of his testimony, he explained the contentious VAR call to overturn an awarded penalty against Arsenal in their game against Newcastle. The incident, which involved Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope and Arsenal forward Victor Gyokeres, has sparked considerable discussion among fans and analysts alike.
During the match, Arsenal were awarded a penalty kick when Gyokeres went down in the box. This was unfortunate, but directly related to contact with Pope. After some additional scrutiny, Webb explained what had happened. Mason’s reasoning, as to why the decision was overturned, is that Pope touched the ball prior to any contact with Gyokeres. This often overlooked, yet important detail was a significant reason in the evaluation of the play. In Webb’s view, the goalkeeper’s action was a fair attempt to play the ball.
Webb continued to describe the gravity of the matter by noting that the principle of the game is that it must be officiated right. He added that they decided to rescind the red card after reviewing video of the play. This deliberate consideration was to weigh the full penalty in the interest of leveling the playing field defined by the rulebook of football. As the referee pointed out, players always think they got a bad deal in these cases. He emphasized the need to highlight the nuts and bolts of what occurred on the play.
The incident has sparked a larger discussion surrounding the application and interpretation of contact between players, and used it to shape penalty decisions. Webb’s comments are a refreshing change, addressing these concerns head-on. His goal is to provide clarity on the criteria that referees are using to inform their decisions. That’s an unfortunate example of how a known player’s behavior and performance can heavily influence officiating decisions. This would show the true effect of their bad intent on the practice.
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