Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has discussed the controversial penalty decision awarded against Arsenal in the match against Brighton.
It comes as the Gunners were forced to settle for a draw away at the Amex Stadium, with Ethan Nwaneri’s opener cancelled out by Joao Pedro.
Arsenal were far from their best, but there was clear frustration from Mikel Arteta in the way the match unfolded.
Not least when Brighton were awarded a controversial penalty, with William Saliba colliding heads with Pedro in the box.
Arteta was left fuming with the penalty decision against Arsenal, with former referee Dermot Gallagher now giving his professional opinion on the decision.
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Dermot Gallagher reveals reason behind Brighton penalty vs Arsenal
Arsenal fans were left fuming with the penalty decision given by Anthony Taylor, but it’s a move that split opinion across the board.
Some believe it’s a penalty, while others don’t want to see spot-kicks given for those challenges, creating plenty of discussions.
For ex-referee Dermot Gallagher, it was worth giving as a penalty as he explained on Sky Sports News: “Certainly interesting. You can see, but once you see and once Anthony Taylor gives a penalty you start examining it, you can’t unsee it.
“And once you see Pedro heads the ball onto Saliba’s head. Well, some people say ‘Well he [Saliba] got the ball’, he didn’t, the ball struck him, and he got hit.
“He [Saliba] does catch him [Pedro] with his head, he’s stood up as well so it looks even worse. I think the referee gives a penalty on field, the VAR has no right to overturn it.”
It’s a moment that still caused some confusion with VAR though and the lack of intervention to overturn it, though Gallagher also explained it.
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Dermot Gallagher on VAR check for Arsenal penalty decision
Many Arsenal fans questioned whether Saliba getting his head on the ball impacts the VAR decision at all.
However, Gallagher, who had access to the VAR audio, revealed all as he told Sky Sports: “They have to check it because it’s a penalty, what I hear is the VAR, I don’t hear the referee.
“So the referee will feed this information that I don’t have any knowledge of what he says, the VAR works on that and looks at the pictures.
“I think once the referee gives it on-field, and he took his time, he thought about it, he gave a penalty.
“Once he’s given it, I think when you see the pictures he catches his head after, he’s stood up as well and it’s not like they were jumping and clashed as we see, I just think then the VAR has no right to intervene.”
It’s a moment that creates division on opinion, but one that can’t be changed now for Arsenal and the course of their season.
Attention must turn to what they can do and what they can change, with the performance levels being the key point to change.
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