Premier League refereeing: are perfect decisions a step too VAR?

Premier League referees (such as Jarred Gillett, pictured here) and VAR are coming under increasing criticism from fans.

Last weekend’s Premier League fixtures yet again sparked debate over the state of officiating in football and whether, despite the introduction of VAR, things have taken a turn for the worse or not.

VAR was, of course, involved in a number of these contentious decisions: firstly overturning a first-half penalty initially awarded to Arsenal from a foul by Newcastle’s Nick Pope on Viktor Gyökeres.

In the second half, an off-the-ball incident involving Gabriel and Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade seemed to involve Gabriel direct a punch at Woltemade’s face – but no action was taken by the referee.

Finally, and possibly most controversially, Gabriel was involved again, when Toon winger Anthony Elanga saw his cross late half blocked by the defender’s prominently raised arm in the penalty area. No penalty was awarded, despite a VAR review.

After a late Arsenal fightback to win the game 2-1, debate swirled around these key decisions rapidly ensued – particularly around Gabriel.

But firstly, Arsenal’s overturned penalty. The initial on-field decision was revised due to Pope supposedly getting a touch on the ball even though he appeared to foul the player.

Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb backed the decision, but has faced criticism over what fans see as inconsistency in his rationale, after he commented on a similar issue last season, during a game between Brighton and Arsenal.

Then, Webb said: “A touch on the ball doesn’t negate the possible award of a penalty”.

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Gabriel scored Arsenal’s last-gasp winner – but after the incident with Woltemade, many questioned whether he should still have been on the pitch to do so.

Woltemade told Sky Sports after the game that he “felt something in my face”, which he said was “not right”, and refused to shake Gabriel’s hand after the Brazilian appeared to acknowledge what he had done.

Additionally, many widely-followed Newcastle fan channels on social media have also voiced their frustrations around the incident, with Facebook channel Magpie 24/7 saying: “How is the state of officiating and governance in our sport so bad?”

Another popular fan-led page, Mouth of the Tyne, said: “What gets me with this incident is that the fist is clenched.”

The handball incident also involving Gabriel sparked further debate around whether or not the Premier League’s handball rules are fit for purpose.

When considering Gabriel’s obviously raised arm, former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin said on BBC5 Live: “In a normal world, I am giving a penalty there.”

Arguably, the failure to give Gabriel two yellow cards – or a straight red – cost Newcastle three valuable points.

Unsurprisingly, there were other controversial decisions lasts weekend, and across the season so far, with a handball shout not given against Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah on Saturday. Earlier events in the season also saw the PGMOL forced to issue an apology to Fulham after they had a goal controversially disallowed against Chelsea.

So, it would appear that these decisions are happening on an almost weekly basis; costing teams an ever-increasing number of points. Fans are now asking ‘Is it now time that Premier League officials raise their game?’