Video assistance referees cause controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made and are they accurate?
After each weekend, we assess the key circumstances and explain them in terms of the VAR process and the rules of the game.
– The effects of VAR rulings on each Premier League club in 2023–2024.
– The Complete Guide to Premier League VAR
The reason Eddie Nketiah was ruled to be offside when Gabriel Martinelli scored for Arsenal against Everton is examined in this week’s VAR Review. Why wasn’t Anthony Gordon’s penalty against Brentford for Newcastle United reversed? Was the referee right to uphold his decision to award Aston Villa a penalty?
Everton 0–1 Arsenal
Nketiah was ineligible to score before Martinelli.
What happened: Martinelli finished past Jordan Pickford after receiving a cross from Fabio Vieira in the 19th minute. Nketiah, though, received an offside flag from the VAR.
Goal disallowed, per VAR judgement.
VAR analysis: Nketiah received the ball from Everton striker Beto; how then could the Arsenal player be offside? We may never see another offside situation like the one that resulted from the reintroduction of the “deliberate play” portion of the law.
For players, managers, and analysts as well as fans, the word “deliberate” causes a lot of anxiety when “controlled” would be more rational and clear.
Only if a player has control over the result of their move can they be said to have made a “deliberate play”. Therefore, if a player tries to block or intercept the ball, the result cannot be controlled. This cannot therefore be a “deliberate play.” Additionally, since it cannot be a “deliberate play,” the offside phase cannot be restarted.
In the middle of the circle, Gabriel attempted a square pass after receiving the ball. To intercept the pass, Beto closed in on the Arsenal defender and put out his leg. Nketiah, who was coming back from being offside, received the ball after it had rebounded off Beto’s shin and traveled up the field.
It’s a remarkable series of events considering that Gabriel never intended to pass the ball to Nketiah, but a pass’s intended receiver and direction of play are irrelevant; a player can still be offside if the ball is sent backwards or sideways.
A defensive player’s contact hasn’t always reset the offside phase, but none have been as uncommon as this.
Ezri Konsa was found not to have had any influence over an attempted interception, hence the offside phase continued to be in effect when Liverpool scored a goal through Cody Gakpo against Aston Villa in April.
Due to the ball rebounding off Sporting CP defender Nazinho before Harry Kane scored, his late goal against Sporting CP was disallowed last season.
Although the word “deliberate play” is ambiguous, this was a prime example of a move that shouldn’t restart the offside phase. Referee Simon Hooper did not need to go to the monitor to examine Nketiah’s position because of the overturn.
The camera angle utilized when Alejandro Garnacho had a goal disallowed against Arsenal is irrelevant because there is technology to correct it, as was noted in the evaluation for the previous gameweek. The lines are therefore transferred to each pitch, despite the angle appearing odd.
Vieira’s pass might have caused Martinelli to be offside, but after Nketiah’s offside position was established, there was no need to further investigate.
Saliba on Doucoure might be punished.
What happened: Abdoulaye Doucouré rushed into the area in the 31st minute but was tackled by William Saliba. Play proceeded because referee Hooper was indifferent about the penalty.
According to the VAR, no penalty.
According to the VAR, Doucoure was undoubtedly looking for a penalty in this situation. To avoid running into Saliba, he moved the ball to the right while continuing to sprint straight.
Saliba had no momentum when Doucoure tried to use the France international’s retracting leg to get a penalty; a similar scenario will play out in the Newcastle vs. Brentford match.
