Lewis Dunk, the team captain of English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion, put the vexatious experience of many teams and fans of football in words when he criticised the errors that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has introduced to the game. Dunk raised questions about the effectiveness of VAR, following his team’s controversial 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, April 8.
In the game, Dunk scored a 34th minute equaliser to bring the scores to 1-1 after Spurs’ Son Heung-Min had broken the deadlock with a 10th minute opener. However, Harry Kane found the winner 11 minutes from time through a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg assist. The defeat dealt a blow to Brighton’s hopes of qualifying for Europe and Dunk felt that VAR’s failure to make the correct decision contributed to the result.
It was painful for the captain because his teammates and coaching crew had put in every effort to get a favourable result and they had played meritoriously enough to, at the very least, take something back home at the final whistle. Yet, all that was lost through no fault of theirs. Instead, a system introduced to eliminate human error was responsible for the errors that caused them to drop points all over again.
Dunk was particularly aggrieved by a challenge from Tottenham’s Hojbjerg on teammate Kaoru Mitoma, which the Brighton captain believed ought to have resulted in a clear penalty decision in favour of Brighton. Despite a VAR check, referee Stuart Attwell waved away Brighton’s appeals and declined to review the incident on the pitch-side TV monitor. Based on incidents that have taken place since that April 8 fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, it is clear that Dunk’s fury is not without merit.
After the match, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued an apology to Brighton and admitted that VAR had made a mistake by not awarding them a penalty. Howard Webb, the Chief Refereeing Officer for PGMOL, personally contacted Brighton and acknowledged that Hojbjerg’s challenge on Mitoma was a foul that should have resulted in a penalty kick. Had that penalty been rightfully called during the game, in answer to the immediate and valid complaints of the Brighton players, who besieged the referee when it happened, the dynamics of the match could have changed and the final results could have been different. Yet, even if that was not the case at the final whistle, at least, Brighton will not have felt cheated of some crucial points as they obviously do now because it was not the only questionable decision of that tie.
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In addition to the penalty incident, Brighton had two goals disallowed by VAR for handball and they have asked PGMOL for an explanation about these incidents as well. These faulty decision-making cases, even with the use of VAR, are behind Dunk’s reasoning in concluding that VAR is ineffective in making big decisions.
It is not surprising that the Brighton captain is now in the lengthening list of those questioning VAR’s purpose in the game. He has justifiably argued that if VAR can consistently fail to assist referees in making the right decisions, what truly is the point of having it in the first instance.
In the aftermath of this significant mishap for Brighton, PGMOL issued an apology to the club, in what will be the third time this season. The PGMOL admitted that the match officials and VAR made a mistake by not awarding Brighton their spot kick for the Mitoma and Hojbjerg clash in the penalty area. Webb reportedly contacted the club personally to explain that they should have been awarded a penalty for the Hojbjerg foul on Mitoma. As THEWILL reported at the time, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was sent off during the game, along with his Tottenham counterpart, adding to the frustrations of the Brighton team with the decision-making during the fixture.
There was criticism from several quarters besides the ire of the Brighton team. Former midfielder Danny Murphy and Premier League’s record scorer, Alan Shearer, were among those who criticised the officiating.
Speaking on Match Of The Day, Murphy said that it was “beyond belief” that two decisions were not given, describing it as “complete incompetence.” Shearer also slammed the officiating, saying that it was “not good enough” and “not acceptable.” Shearer predicted that Brighton would receive an apology for the missed penalty even before PGMOL served the team its apology.
The loss to Tottenham could be costly for Brighton as they dropped to seventh in the standings, 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United after the fixture. Despite the defeat, Brighton remains in contention for a place in European competitions. However, as indicated above, this is not the first time Brighton is having to go through this nor are they the only team to have been so flagrantly cheated of vital points that could prove crucial with the fine margins at the top and bottom this season.
In the Crystal Palace versus Brighton game of February 11, a goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside due to a human error by VAR official John Brooks. Brooks appeared to draw the offside line from the wrong defender, with James Tomkins being identified as the Palace player closest to his own goal when it was actually his teammate Marc Guehi.
Brighton went on to take the lead but Tomkins equalised for the hosts just six minutes later. It ended 1-1 meaning another error had denied the team two significant points.
That same Saturday, Brentford salvaged a similar score, 1-1 against Arsenal, at the Emirates. Leandro Trossard had put the Gunners ahead in the second half, but Bees’ forward Ivan Toney levelled the score with a 74th-minute header for his 15th goal of the season. However, the argument around the legitimacy of the goal meant it had to be reviewed by VAR for a possible offside, which the replays were showing to be the case. The review came back positive, nonetheless, and the equaliser stood.
The draw meant that Arsenal failed to go eight points clear at the top of the EPL and give themselves extra breathing space from the chasing defending champions Manchester City. It all became another case of frustration when it was revealed that VAR failed to do its job as required.
PGMOL confirmed that Webb contacted Arsenal at the same time as it did Brighton to apologise for allowing the goal stand. Expectedly, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was left fuming after replays showed that Toney’s equaliser should have been ruled out for offside against Ethan Pinnock as he blocked off Gabriel Magalhaes and Christian Norgaard, whose hook back across goal was turned in. It has since been discovered that VAR official Lee Mason checked and cleared the block from Pinnock on Gabriel but did not fully investigate the Norgaard offside by drawing lines with the computer technology, as is the normal process. Two points had been shaved off Arsenal’s total because a VAR referee failed to do his job.
The very next day, there were more VAR controversies. In that match, West Ham played Chelsea in a London derby, when a handball by Tomas Soucek went unnoticed by the referee and VAR officials. West Ham’s Soucek diverted a Conor Gallagher shot away from the goal with his arm as he fell to the turf, but referee Craig Pawson waved away appeals, and there was no intervention from VAR. The Premier League’s VAR chief, Neil Swarbrick, who was on match duty during the game, deemed that Soucek’s arm was going to the ground to break a fall. However, Chelsea’s Graham Potter dubbed it a “great save”.
As it was one too many, Webb immediately called for an emergency meeting with officials responsible for the VAR system after admitting to these “significant errors” during these EPL matches. The frequency and crucial nature of the problem was enough to fuel the flames of those calling for the entire system to be scrapped. Part of the resolution of this emergency meeting was the PGMOL caving in to calls for the punishment of those responsible for the irresponsible decisions. Lee Mason, the former on-field referee who was working exclusively on VAR duties, and who failed to spot that offside for Brentford’s equaliser against Arsenal, was made to stand down from his role for upcoming EPL fixtures.
It was not the first time Mason has come under scrutiny for a high-profile error. He was not selected earlier this season after disallowing a goal for Newcastle in their home match against Crystal Palace on September 3.
Similarly, John Brooks, the lead VAR official, was removed from the following Monday’s Merseyside derby and Wednesday’s match between Arsenal and Manchester City after a controversial offside decision. However, Brooks was set to return to duty but as the fourth official for Aston Villa vs Arsenal on Saturday. The PGMOL’s decision was expected to address the growing concerns about VAR’s efficacy and transparency in decision-making but as the last incident with Brighton and Spurs on April 8 showed, not much has changed.
Referee Michael Salisbury, who was the video assistant referee for the match and who failed to spot that penalty incident in the second half, has been stood down as well. Salisbury will not be taking part in the weekend’s fixtures, while Stuart Attwell has been appointed VAR for the upcoming clash between Wolves and Brentford at Molineux. The suspension of Salisbury has sparked widespread debate among fans and commentators, with many questioning the consistency of VAR decisions and the overall quality of refereeing in the EPL.
Nonetheless, the incident has once again brought the issue of VAR and refereeing standards to the forefront of the footballing world. What is being queried is that why is it so controversial in the EPL and not so much elsewhere in Europe where the system is in use as well. The PGMOL will continue to remain in the spotlight, more than ever before, until it can bring these questionable decision-making to the barest minimum.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
