In a recent statement, Howard Webb, the Head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in England, conceded that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty when facing Arsenal. The incident occurred during the Premier League match on December 24, 2023, in which the two teams played to a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
During the game, Arsenal's player Martin Odegaard appeared to commit a handball in the penalty box after losing balance under pressure from Mohamed Salah. The Gunners escaped the potential penalty, and now PGMOL boss Webb has shared his perspective on the matter.
In the Match Officials Mic'd Up, a program by the Premier League Production that analyzes VAR decisions from the previous week's matches, Webb stated that referee Chris Kavanagh on the field recognized Odegaard slipping and saw his arm touching the ground.
“It wasn't just Odegaard accidentally falling onto the ball. He slipped, his arm was out, but he genuinely pulled his arm back towards his body when the ball made contact with his arm," said Webb as quoted by BBC on Tuesday (16/1/2024).
VAR reviewed this aspect. The VAR officials felt that this was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself smaller by pulling his arm back towards his body. Webb emphasized this as a crucial element in the situation.
"Whether instinctive or deliberate, he gained a significant advantage by redirecting his arm back towards the ball. All the feedback we received afterward was very clear; the game expected a penalty in this situation. I agree, and therefore, I think this is one of the decisions that did not yield the correct result," he said.
Despite the implementation of VAR improving the percentage of correct decisions in crucial moments of the game, significant errors are still made by referees and officials using this technology. The incident in the Liverpool versus Arsenal match serves as a tangible example of this. Jurgen Klopp expressed considerable frustration over the denied penalty, while William Saliba also believed that a penalty should have been awarded.
"Someone should explain why it wasn't a penalty because, in my opinion, it was a penalty," Klopp stated at the time. VAR will once again be utilized in the upcoming Premier League matches this weekend, with Arsenal hosting local rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (21/1/2024), and The Reds traveling to Bournemouth the following day.
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