Refereeing

THE PREMIER LEAGUE has released VAR audio from major incidents in the league so far this season and fans have been left fuming.Whilst reviewing the audio, PGMOL Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has spoken out about the decision by Simon Hooper to not award a penalty for Andre Onana’s clumsy collision with Sasa Kalajdzic.
Howard Webb has been discussing VAR decisions using the audio from the incidents
Onana clashed with Sasa Kalajdzic inside the area, but no penalty was givenCredit: Rex
The incident had sparked huge controversy when Onana collided with the striker during Man United’s matchup against Wolves.
The Premier League has now revealed the VAR’s audio from the incident which prompted an apology from John Moss for getting the decision wrong at the time.
Most fans thought it should have been a penalty to Wolves and it seems that Webb is in agreement them.
He said: “I think from the outset I want to say that should have led to an intervention by VAR. We should have seen a video review being recommended and the referee should have gone to the screen.
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“I’m confident he would have seen the images that we’ve seen and would have awarded a penalty.”
Webb went on to say he thinks that the officials were overthinking the decision and therefore failed to do the right thing.
He said: “[The VAR] starts to go down the road, I believe, towards recommending a video review, but then he overthinks it a little bit. Sometimes the VARs can do that.
“They’re trying to identify what the game would expect in terms of what is and isn’t a clear and obvious error.”
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Howard Webb has talked through the VAR officials decisionsCredit: Getty
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He then admitted that it was a mistake to not recommend a review, explaining: “We didn’t recommend a review. We should have done. We acknowledge that as an error, which, of course, was disappointing.
“We took the learning from that, obviously, to try and ensure going forward that type of error doesn’t happen again.”
The decision has left fans fuming and they took to social media to share their reactions to Webb’s explanations.
One said: “That VAR/Ref audio is incredible on that Onana decision on the opening weekend. Howard Webb said that VAR overthought it and it was a huge error hence the apology…”
Whilst another added: “It’s an absolute disgrace and they are about as incompetent as I assumed. This hasn’t cleared anything up.”
A third commented: “My word this is 100x more inept than I would’ve imagined. The ref and VAR have no clue what they’re doing here.”
The Onana incident was just one of the decisions that were reviewed by Webb and the Premier League.
They also discussed incidents including Kai Havertz overturned penalty against Man United and Virgil Van Dijk’s red card against Newcastle.
Webb agreed with the officials in concern to both the situations and believed that the correct decisions were made.
He did however admit to another mistake by the referees already this season.
Nathan Ake’s goal vs Fulham at the weekend had been a contentious subject with many fans claiming that it should’ve been disallowed for offside.
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And it would seem they were correct in their frustrations as Webb admitted he also thought it was a mistake to award the goal.
Speaking on the incident he said: “Unfortunately, it wasn’t identified on the day, and, of course, the learning from this one will also be shared amongst all of our group because we’re always looking to do better each and every week, and this was an error.”
Kai Havertz won Arsenal a penalty during their match with Man Utd, but it was overturned by VARCredit: Getty
Virgil van Dijk was sent off for Liverpool after a challenge on Alexander IsakCredit: Reuters
Fulham fans were fuming that Nathan Ake’s goal was allowed to stand in their 5-1 loss to the treble winnersCredit: Getty More

PORTO are demanding that their match versus Arouca is annulled after an official used a mobile phone during a VAR check. The Portuguese Primeira League clash ended 1-1 with the game marred by refereeing controversy.
Porto have been left fuming after a VAR call was made over the phone
Referee Miguel Nogueira overturned his decision to give Porto a penaltyCredit: EPA
Arouca were 1-0 up when Porto were awarded a 90th penalty after Mehdi Taremi went down in the box.
Referee Miguel Nogueira was sent over to the pitchside monitor but a technical fault meant he was unable to communicate with his fellow officials.
After a long delay he was surprisingly handed a mobile phone and began to deliberate the incident despite not being able to watch a replay.
Eventually, the refs chose to overturn the call and no spot-kick was given.
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The Refereeing Council of Portugal’s Football Federation said the malfunction was due to a power failure at the Estadio do Dragao.
However, Porto strongly deny this and claim the error was down to a worker not connecting the VAR cables properly.
A club statement read: “This fact was acknowledged by the Altice technicians themselves when they replaced the equipment, which was then supported by the stadium’s power.”
Porto also want the result annulled or the match replayed due to “misconduct by the refereeing team.”
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Their statement continued: “Nogueira’s action constitutes a violation of the rules of the game and an error of law with a potential serious impact on the outcome of the match.”
The chaotic game continued with 22 minutes of stoppage time played to compensate for the delay.
Porto were awarded another penalty in the 106th minute only for Wenderson Galeno’s effort from 12 yards to be saved by Arouca keeper Ignacio De Arruabarrena.
They piled on the pressure as they looked for the equaliser, which eventually came via Evanilson with the clock at 90+19.
Porto are currently second in the Primeira League after four matches and Arouca are seventh.
The Dragons have qualified for this season’s Champions League and are in a group with Barcelona, Shakhtar Donestk and Royal Antwerp. More

A REFEREE was forced to use a mobile phone during a VAR check in bizarre and chaotic scenes.The Portuguese Primeira League match between Porto and Arouca ended 1-1 but was dominated by controversy with the hosts demanding the result is “cancelled”.
Referee Miguel Nogueira used a mobile phone in his VAR check
He was handed a phone after a long delay with him seemingly unable to speak to the VAR hub
He overturned his decision in a chaotic matchCredit: EPA
Arouca scored first via Cristo Gonzalez in the 83rd minute before things took a hectic and unique turn.
Porto were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute with VAR deciding to review the decision.
Referee Miguel Nogueira was then called over to the pitchside monitor but seemed unable to communicate with the VAR hub due to a technical error.
After a lengthy delay, the official was then handed a mobile phone and discussed the possible penalty with his fellow officials.
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Nogueira decided to overturn his own call and no spot-kick was given.
The drama continued as Porto were then awarded with another penalty in the 106th minute.
This time the spot-kick stood, but Wenderson Galeno saw his effort from 12 yards saved by Ignacio De Arruabarrena as Arouca thought they had held on to the three points.
Porto continued to pile the pressure on and eventually equalised when Evanilson netted with the clock at 90+19.
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Eventually, the final whistle was blown with 22 minutes of stoppage time played.
This all came after Porto striker Mehdi Taremi saw his first-half goal chalked off for offside after a VAR check.
The actions of Nogueira has left Sergio Conceicao’s side raging and they released a shock statement after the game asking for the match to be annulled due to misconduct by the ref.
They claim using the phone and not looking at images of the foul on Taremi for the overturned penalty violated league rules and impacted the outcome of the match.
It is Porto’s second week of drama in a row following their 2-1 win away at Rio Ave last weekend.
Porto trailed 1-0 only to find the back of the net twice in injury time to seal an incredible comeback victory.
The Dragons sit third in the league table after four matches and are in this season’s Champions League Group H with Shakhtar Donestk, Barcelona and Royal Antwerp. More

FORMER Premier League referee Mike Dean has rubbished claims that Manchester United get favourable decisions. The former official has labelled the idea that United get more decisions than other teams as “absurd”.
Mike Dean has said It’s absurd to think referees treat Man Utd different to other clubsCredit: Getty
Dean admitted that Sir Alex Ferguson never game him the ‘hairdryer treatment’Credit: Getty
Dean insists that all teams are treated the same and even admitted that he has got on the wrong side of former Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson during his time as a referee.
But despite Sir Alex’s infamously fiery temper, Dean has said he was never on the end of one of his “hairdryer treatments”.
The VAR and former man in the middle has been speaking about Stuart Attwell’s decision to give United a penalty at the weekend.
Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot with the penalty crucial in the Manchester club’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.
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Marcus Rashford won a penalty for United when he was fouled by DaniloCredit: Getty
Bruno Fernandes converted the spot-kick to put United 3-2 up after trailing by two goals earlier in the gameCredit: PA
Speaking to the Mail Online, he said: “It’s absurd to think that an official would walk out on to that pitch feeling as if he has to do United any favours. That includes Saturday’s referee Stuart Attwell. 
“You may think their penalty against Nottingham Forest was harsh, but there was enough in Danilo’s challenge on Marcus Rashford for it to be awarded.
“Attwell saw that Rashford was caught by Danilo and VAR Robert Jones verified that it was not a clear and obvious error.”
Dean even said that he used to love refereeing at Old Trafford and dispelled any rumours of favouritism towards United by labelling it as a “myth”.
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He said: “It’s a myth that Manchester United get favourable treatment from referees at Old Trafford. I was never frightened of refereeing there. I loved it.”
And the 55-year-old can even recall upsetting Sir Alex in the name of ensuring he made the right decisions on the pitch.
But he admitted he was thankful he was never on the end of one of the Scots’ telling offs.
Mike Dean has said he used to love refereeing at Old TraffordCredit: AP
He explained: “He [Sir Alex Ferguson] wasn’t the happiest when I awarded Hull City a penalty at Old Trafford in November 2008.
“Despite United going on to win the game 4-3! – but he was largely a gentleman.
“Not once did he come banging down my dressing room door to give me the ‘hairdryer treatment’. I’ve got no hair to dry anyway!” More