High Profile Incidents in recent times – Luis Diaz’s wrongfully disallowed goal versus Tottenham Hotspur and Anthony Gordon’s goal versus Arsenal.
VAR was employed to eliminate human error in the wake of high-profile errors made before the technology was introduced. Many would counter that there have been several high-profile occurrences recently, the most famous of which was undoubtedly Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham Hotspur, which was declared offside despite being apparent as onside.
The game was declared to restart as an indirect free kick for Spurs, and it is thought that this incident resulted from a lack of communication over the on-field decision. The Laws of the Game state that once the game is restarted, it is unable to amend the restart again.
As a result, the PGMOL declared that Dan Cook and Darren England would not be participating in officiating in the Premier League going forward for a time period due to this occurrence. The PGMOL also issued an apology in a statement for the “human error.”
In the wake of this incident, officials have made sure that everything is verified accurately and without regard to time constraints. Additionally, as a result, officials’ decision-making has undoubtedly increased. But in recent weeks, another event has taken front stage, with opinions on Newcastle’s goal in their one-nil victory over Mikel Arteta’s team being divided.
First, it was determined if former Gunner, Joe Willock had recovered the ball on the byline or if it was completely gone. But because of the ball’s curvature, the decision had been declared inconclusive and there was no glaring error—which is, of course, the only way that VAR may overturn the on-field ruling.
Additionally, Joe Willock crossed the ball in after retrieving it, and it was revealed there was another check to see if the aerial challenge between Joelinton and Gabriel Magalhaes was legal after the Arsenal defender struck the deck after the skirmish.
Nevertheless, it was determined to be a legal challenge, and Anthony Gordon was the first to respond to the loose ball and stab it home. Not without one last check to see if the former Toffee, Anthony Gordon, was offside, as David Raya became the second-to-last defender in this incident.
After the three reviews, it was determined that there were no obvious mistakes. As a result, this goal was the only one scored during the match, and Arsenal suffered their first league defeat of the year.
Listen to the full segment from Sky Sports below!
Listen to the full four minute VAR check of Anthony Gordon's controversial goal for Newcastle against Arsenal and PGMOL chief Howard Webb discussing the process of awarding the goal 🔊 pic.twitter.com/f0wGwsPqhE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 14, 2023
