Arsenal have found themselves on the wrong end of several contentious VAR decisions this season, but in a recent game against Liverpool they were lucky to not give away a penalty.
Mikel Arteta’s side battled to a 1-1 draw away at Liverpool in December, a result which at the time, was a good point to keep Arsenal at the top of the table.
However, Arsenal have lost all of their games since, including an FA Cup tie against the same opponents, and they have taken a tumble down the league.
This could have been even worse, as it has now been claimed that Martin Odegaard should have been penalised for a handball in the draw at Anfield just before Christmas.
Arsenal were given favourable VAR decision in Liverpool draw
Speaking on Match Officials Mic’d up, PGMOL chief Howard Webb explained that Liverpool should have been awarded a penalty in the first half against Arsenal after Martin Odegaard slipped and handled the ball inside the box.
“The referee on the field recognised that Odegaard had slipped and saw his arm go towards the ground,” he stated.
“We’ve talked in the past about supporting arms, if somebody falls, breaks their fall with the arm it’s all very natural, and that’s a pretty well-established concept.
“In this situation though there’s an important difference to a normal player that’s falling. This is not just Odegaard accidentally falling onto the ball, he does slip, his arm does go out, but then he actually pulls his arm back in towards his body which is when the ball makes contact with the arm.
“The VAR looked at that aspect, and felt it was a case of Odegaard trying to make himself actually smaller, by bringing the arm back towards the body.
“That is the element that I think is important here. Whether it’s instinctive or deliberate, he gets a huge advantage by bringing the arm back towards the ball.
“I think the feedback we got afterwards was very clear, the game expects a penalty in the situation, I would agree and as such I think this was one that didn’t lead to the right outcome on that basis.”
Arsenal’s controversial refereeing decisions
Arsenal found themselves at war with Webb and the PGMOL after Mikel Arteta embarked on a heated rant after his side were beaten at Newcastle, and the Spaniard escaped punishment after criticising the decisions over a Bruno Guimaraes foul and Anthony Gordon’s winner.
The club issued a statement calling for Webb to tackle the issue of incorrect decisions within refereeing, and they were criticised by many for it.
Months later, incorrect decisions which are influencing games are still being given. Whilst it was in favour of Arsenal this time, this was an error which could have seen the game end very differently.
Arsenal were lucky on this occasion, but it does further highlight inconsistencies when it comes to refereeing decisions, and this needs to improve.
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