Newcastle United vs Arsenal was once again full of controversy.
The clash at St James’ Park has been a feisty affair in recent seasons. There have been many tough battles, and refereeing decisions have dominated the news.
That was the case again on Sunday night, with Jarred Gillett and the VAR making a few decisions that Arsenal fans are far from happy with.
One of them, however, was the right call, much to Mikel Arteta’s disappointment.
What VAR said about Nick Woltemade’s push on Gabriel Magalhaes just before his goal
Arsenal were by far the better side against Newcastle United in the first half.
Eberechi Eze was denied twice by the brilliant Nick Pope, while Leandro Trossard’s fierce left-footed strike struck the inside of the post.
The biggest controversy was when Arsenal were awarded a penalty after Pope brought Viktor Gyokeres down inside the box. But the VAR overturned it, which, in our opinion, was not the right decision.
Then, after all the dominance, Nick Woltemade gave Newcastle the lead, but Gabriel Magalhaes complained to the referee that he had been pushed.
Replays showed that the Newcastle United star had his hands on the Brazilian’s back, who went down, but VAR refused to interfere.
On Sky Sports, co-commentator Gary Neville revealed what was said in the VAR room that made the referee stick to his original decision.
He said: “A really clear line from VAR, saying: ‘A little touch in the back does not make Gabriel go down like he does’.
“I think they got that one right.”
Mikel Arteta should be furious with VAR for overturning Arsenal’s penalty
Gillett rightly awarded a penalty to Arsenal after Gyokeres was fouled by Pope inside the box.
However, VAR took its time, zoomed in on a tiny touch that the goalkeeper may have got on the ball and asked the referee to have another look.
Having gone to the screen, Gillett saw at least 10 replays of the incident, if not more, and in the end, decided to overturn his decision.
The law clearly states that the VAR should only interfere if there is a clear and obvious error. If the referee has to watch the replay 10 times, it’s just not clear and obvious.
Arteta was absolutely livid at St James’ Park a few years ago because of a refereeing error. We won’t be surprised if he is the same again now.
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