PGMOL chief Howard Webb has admitted that the decision to rule out Josh King’s goal for Fulham in their recent 2-0 defeat to Chelsea was a “misjudgement.”
King found the net in the 22nd minute, only for the goal to be overturned after a lengthy VAR review. The decision stemmed from Rodrigo Muniz being judged to have fouled Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah near the halfway line, stepping on his foot while attempting to turn.
Fulham manager Marco Silva labelled the decision “unbelievable.” Chelsea eventually secured the win thanks to Joao Pedro’s header and a penalty from Enzo Fernandez, the latter following another disputed VAR call that left Silva visibly frustrated.
Following the game, Michael Salisbury was removed as VAR official for Sunday’s Liverpool vs Arsenal match.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up, a programme analysing VAR decisions from previous rounds, Webb acknowledged the mistake.
He said officials should “only be taking goals away” when there is “very clear” evidence, reflecting the guidance provided to referees.
“It wasn’t controversial, it was wrong. We’ve established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR,” Webb explained.
“They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm and tempo of the game. We’ve also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.
“In this situation, that guidance wasn’t followed properly. There was a misjudgement by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah.
“The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened.”
This marked the second consecutive home game where Chelsea benefited from VAR decisions. Earlier, Eberechi Eze’s free-kick was disallowed against Crystal Palace after Marc Guehi was deemed to have interfered with the wall.
Burnley manager Scott Parker criticised VAR at the weekend, claiming it risks turning football into “the most sterile game there is.” Webb, however, defended its implementation.
“We’ve done really well in the last 18 months or so to reduce our involvement, with respect to the referee’s call,” Webb said.
“We’ve seen less interventions in the Premier League than any other major league in Europe, so we need to continue doing that.
“We understand the importance of these decisions. We understand that if we get it wrong like we did on this occasion the impact is significant – and we’re always, always striving to do better.”
