The official, though undoubtedly misunderstood or derided, 24/25 VAR thread

[popillius]

Fans see what they want to see.

On Saturday, Skipp could easily have been sent off. The foul which led to our first goal was incredibly soft and manufactured by Vardy.

Do we go on about these things? No. Because we don't want to see them. In some respects, it's our job to be biased.

We only want to see the 'foul' on Vardy before the first Arsenal goal and the fouls by Calafiori.

I don't think there is any evidence that officials are biased. They can be influenced by circumstances and this is one of the main reasons I've always supported VAR. It provides for a more detached independence.

It's also why I started this thread to try to share the viewpoint of Dale Johnson (ESPN) more. He provides explanations and compares decisions from different games which I think can be really helpful.

On the first Arsenal goal, once the onfield ref allows the challenge from Saliba on Vardy, there is no way VAR gets involved. Nobody would have given it a second thought if the ref had blown for a foul on Vardy but it isn't a clear foul so a referee will make a call and the one he made was fair enough.

Totally agree. I thought it was a foul at the time; I was convinced of it. Then they showed a replay of it later on and it looked incredibly soft. I'm not surprised it wasn't given.

 

[popillius]

Depends whether the decisions suit the agenda

Bingo.

And it's not even match day.

 

[homer]

 

[Blue Maniac]

Blah blah The Thing from The Thing blah blah Ricardo and JJ blah blah some player we had on loan in 2005

 

[homer]

Blah blah The Thing from The Thing blah blah Ricardo and JJ blah blah some player we had on loan in 2005

You ok, mate?

 

[Robin127]

Okay

Or

Wow.

Man has never walked on the moon either.

 

[Blue Maniac]

You ok, mate?

Yeah all good, just having some fun.

Anyway, that Steve Cooper, eh? Like some kind of alien

 

[Robin127]

Anyway, that Steve Cooper, eh? Like some kind of alien

They walk among us.

 

[Blue Maniac]

They walk among us.

Or burst violently out of your chest

 

[popillius]

Or burst violently out of your chest

That's an aneurysm.

 

[popillius]

Man has never walked on the moon either.

And as for that curved Earth bollocks....

 

[Brown Nose]

Leicester 1-0 Bournemouth​

Possible penalty: Handball by Zabarnyi​

What happened: The game was in the 23rd minute when Stephy Mavididi tried to play a pass to Jamie Vardy, who was at the far post, and the ball hit the arm of Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi. Leicester City players demanded a penalty, but referee Darren Bond played on. It was checked by the VAR, Stuart Attwell.

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: Here's a fact for you: There hasn't been a single penalty for handball in the Premier League this season. Let's compare that to the other top European competitions: Serie A has seen six in 70 matches (0.086 per match); LaLiga eight in 90 (0.089); the Bundesliga six in 54 (0.111); and out in front is Ligue 1 with seven in 54 (0.130). That's dwarfed by the UEFA Champions League, which has seen seven in 36 matches (0.194) -- meaning UEFA's interpretation yields more than double the number of handball penalties than Spain and Italy.

But the Premier League is certainly out on its own with its relaxed interpretation for handball, placing more emphasis on a player's natural movement. It's going to take a really, really obvious offence for the VAR to get involved. Some will probably feel Zabarnyi should fall into that category, and it's a fair argument.

Zabarnyi's arm was out from his body, and in one of the other European competitions it would be pretty certain to result in a spot kick. The Premier League, however, wants to get this law closer to how it was before the IFAB began tweaking it six years ago.

Zabarnyi is running, and the movement of his arms stays consistent before Mavididi attempts the cross. That said, if the referee had given the spot kick, it wouldn't have been overturned.

The "referee's call" is going to be more of a focus on handball offences than anything else.

 

[City Fan]

Leicester 1-0 Bournemouth​

Possible penalty: Handball by Zabarnyi​

What happened: The game was in the 23rd minute when Stephy Mavididi tried to play a pass to Jamie Vardy, who was at the far post, and the ball hit the arm of Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi. Leicester City players demanded a penalty, but referee Darren Bond played on. It was checked by the VAR, Stuart Attwell.

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: Here's a fact for you: There hasn't been a single penalty for handball in the Premier League this season. Let's compare that to the other top European competitions: Serie A has seen six in 70 matches (0.086 per match); LaLiga eight in 90 (0.089); the Bundesliga six in 54 (0.111); and out in front is Ligue 1 with seven in 54 (0.130). That's dwarfed by the UEFA Champions League, which has seen seven in 36 matches (0.194) -- meaning UEFA's interpretation yields more than double the number of handball penalties than Spain and Italy.

But the Premier League is certainly out on its own with its relaxed interpretation for handball, placing more emphasis on a player's natural movement. It's going to take a really, really obvious offence for the VAR to get involved. Some will probably feel Zabarnyi should fall into that category, and it's a fair argument.

Zabarnyi's arm was out from his body, and in one of the other European competitions it would be pretty certain to result in a spot kick. The Premier League, however, wants to get this law closer to how it was before the IFAB began tweaking it six years ago.

Zabarnyi is running, and the movement of his arms stays consistent before Mavididi attempts the cross. That said, if the referee had given the spot kick, it wouldn't have been overturned.

The "referee's call" is going to be more of a focus on handball offences than anything else.

This is music to my ears. Maybe except the bit about it wouldn’t be overturned if the referee gave it, because that will just result in inconsistent decisions.

 

[DillyDing22]

It wasn’t deliberate. End of. Does my head in this law.

 

[Micky]

It's almost like they are using some common sense.

 

[Brown Nose]

Southampton 2-3 Leicester​

Possible penalty and red card: Fraser challenge on Vardy​

What happened: Leicester City were on the attack in the 73rd minute when Fatawu Issahaku saw a header saved by Aaron Ramsdale. With the Southampton goalkeeper on the ground, Jamie Vardy seemed certain to tap home the loose ball but Ryan Manning got there first to clear. Vardy immediately complained to referee Anthony Taylor that he had been held back by Ryan Fraser, and it was looked at by the VAR, Alex Chilowicz.

VAR decision: Red card and penalty, scored by Vardy.

VAR review: In last week's VAR Review we discussed how impact is usually the key consideration for a holding offence. Chilowicz determined that by holding onto Vardy's shirt, Fraser had clearly prevented Vardy from being able to tap the ball home -- meaning it's not only a penalty, but also red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

The problem is that moments earlier Southampton had their own claim for a penalty, which was checked and cleared. The VAR agreed with the referee that André Ayew's actions were of no consequence as Paul Onuachu wouldn't have been able to challenge goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, who caught the ball.

In many respects the Ayew incident was more blatant. He was clearly holding Onuachu as a corner was delivered, resulting in a "coat hanger effect" on his shirt. It's the kind of holding that often does result in a penalty, but oddly in this case there was no appeal by Onuachu or any Southampton player (not that it should influence a possible review.)

It's probably the full-speed replay that persuades the VAR to back the referee's judgement that there was no impact, but it looks and feels like a non-footballing action by Ayew -- the kind that saw Everton concede a penalty against Newcastle when James Tarkowski dragged down Sandro Tonali. It's not as blatant as that, but there was still no interest in trying to play the ball or challenge an opponent.

 

[H T B]

Andre Ayew?

 

[City Fan]

So it was checked then. I have it in the “seen them given” category, but it’s definitely not as crystal clear as some think.

 

[Jeff]

Pulling someone's shirt is not a legitimate way to challenge for the ball, so I don't see how there can be any grey area in this. Utter nonsense from the authorities, as usual.

 

[Brown Nose]

Pulling someone's shirt is not a legitimate way to challenge for the ball, so I don't see how there can be any grey area in this. Utter nonsense from the authorities, as usual.

I think it's perfectly sensible.

If a penalty was given for every foul before and during a corner, there would be one every time.

Referees have always applied common sense and can't just apply laws indiscriminately or the game would be ridiculous.

On this particular example, Taylor made a borderline call that the Southampton player wasn't going to get to make a challenge before Hermansen got to the ball.

After this, VAR can't dispute it unless video evidence shows them something Taylor didn't see.

Nobody would have complained if a penalty had been awarded but it wasn't a terrible decision and VAR acted properly.