Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has had his say on Arsenal’s penalty that was overturned against Newcastle United.
Arsenal applied pressure to Newcastle early in the contest, with tensions rising in the 15th minute when Viktor Gyokeres went down in the box.
Nick Pope ran out as the Arsenal striker broke through on goal, clattering Gyokeres in what looked to be a clear penalty.
Referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot, but upon review, overturned the penalty decision after VAR intervention.
Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal bench could not believe the final decision, with the involvement of VAR being spoken about heavily in the aftermath.
Dermot Gallagher breaks down Viktor Gyokeres penalty incident in Arsenal’s win over Newcastle
Troy Deeney thought Gyokeres should’ve had a penalty after he was tackled by Pope.
On first review, former referee Dermot Gallagher thought the same, as he admitted when speaking about the incident on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch.
“I think it shows how difficult it was that Gary Neville had gone from being adamant it’s a penalty to being torn when he sees it again,” Gallagher began.
“When you look at it, Pope does get a touch on the ball. My instinct immediately was penalty.”
Gallagher, who officiated over 250 Premier League matches during his career, thought that it was a penalty at first, but upon review, his opinion changed.
“You see it again, he [Pope] does get a touch on the ball, he plants his foot so he doesn’t follow through with the tackle, so that’s why it was overturned.”
Even the Arsenal squad thought Pope had an impressive game against the Gunners, but was the goalkeeper fortunate with the decision not to award the penalty?
What Mikel Arteta said about Gyokeres’ penalty being overturned
The Arsenal manager certainly thinks Pope’s blushes were spared, as Arteta commented on the incident in his post-match press conference.
“I watched it live and then I watched it on the screen and for me it was a penalty,” Arteta said, before referencing what Premier League clubs were briefed about regarding VAR.
“We were instructed very clearly again this season that unless it’s a clear and obvious error, the VAR is not going to intervene. It’s not, so that’s my opinion.”
As Pope got to the ball before he got to Gyokeres, the laws of the game determine that a penalty shouldn’t have been awarded, but the argument is that should VAR have got that far to intervene?
To echo Arteta’s assessment, fortunately, Arsenal got the win, so the penalty incident wasn’t decisive.
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