The panel thought two key mistakes were made in the match though
A Premier League panel has decided that the decision to allow Newcastle’s winning goal against Arsenal at the weekend was correct – but that the referees did make two key errors in the match.
On Saturday, Newcastle became the first team to beat Arsenal in the Premier League this season, after Gordon bundled the ball home in the second half.
The goal was the subject of a lengthy VAR review, as the officials checked three separate incidents in the lead-up:
- Whether the ball went out of play before Joe Willock could retrieve it
- Whether Joelinton pushed Gabriel at the back post
- Whether Gordon was offside
VAR held up the match for four minutes before finally deciding that the goal could stand. Newcastle held on to win 1-0, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta labelling the decision an ‘absolute disgrace’ after the game.
The league’s Independent Key Match Incidents Panel has since confirmed that referee Stuart Attwell and his team were right to allow the goal to stand, ESPN reports.
The panel agreed by a vote of 4 to 1 that “although Joelinton does have his hands on Gabriel, there isn’t enough to award a foul as Gabriel had made an action to play the ball before any contact.”
They concluded that there was insufficient evidence to disallow the goal on the the two factual offences.
However, the panel did believe that two significant errors were made elsewhere during the match.
They were unanimous in their belief that Havertz should have been sent off for his challenge on Sean Longstaff in the first half, ruling it to have been a “very dangerous challenge and the type of tackle that needs to be eradicated.”
The panel also decided by 3 votes to 2 that Bruno Guimarães should have been red carded for an arm to the head of Jorginho in the 45th minute of the game.
The Independent Key Match Incidents Panel is made up of three former players and/or coaches, plus one representative each from the Premier League and PGMOL.
It was set up at the start of last season to provide an independent assessment of decision-making rather than relying on the views of PGMOL or the clubs themselves.
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