Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher is back to assess the controversial moments from the weekend's action.
Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea
Dermot: 'Intensity' saves Caicedo from red
INCIDENT: Moises Caicedo appears to plant his studs in Pape Matar Sarr's shin during Chelsea's 4-3 win over Tottenham. No fault is given at that point and a VAR review decides not to intervene.
DERMOT SAYS: “I think it's a yellow card. I can understand why Jamie Carragher thinks it's red.
“I think he goes down, puts his foot in the ground and doesn't go through. That's what saves him. If he catches him mid-shin he gets a red card.”
“What everyone is looking for now is intensity. Does he have it, does he have the momentum, has he gone through it? His boot is coming down on the pitch, instead of his shin.
“That's what saves him.”
Dermot: Not enough in the Kulusevski elbow to warrant a red
INCIDENT: Dejan Kulusveski catches Romeo Lavia on the side of the head with a raised elbow as the pair duel for the ball. Once again, the incident remains unpunished despite a VAR check.
DERMOT SAYS: 'I heard it [the VAR] saying it lacked the intensity, he didn't use his arm as a weapon, he didn't pull it back.
“The question you would ask is why does he have his arm up like that? Why is he running like that? It's a dilemma.
“I heard the VAR say he has his arm up, but he doesn't pull it back, he doesn't use it as a weapon. It doesn't have the intensity, as you say, the buzzword now.
'That was their reason – if you look at where [the referee] is and what he saw, he spoke to the VAR and if you look at the images now, he is looking straight at it.
“He sees what happens and knows how hard he caught him. The images will then reflect what he said.”
Dermot: Hard to say more about Tottenham rockets
INCIDENT: As Chelsea players cross to take corners for the home side at Tottenham, paper used to create a pre-match display is thrown at their takers, causing delays on several occasions.
DERMOT SAYS: “The best thing you can do is what they did, which is try to wipe it out really quickly.
“The worst-case scenario is that the game has to be suspended. If that happens, it invites people to do it more often.
“It's not nice, it's not smart. It happened on both sides, the referee and assistant did their best to get rid of it and move on.”
Crystal Palace 2-2 man city
Dermot: Lewis Red 'exposes' the problem about second yellow
INCIDENT: Rico Lewis receives a second yellow card in Man City's draw at Crystal Palace despite appearing to be trampled by Trevoh Chalobah.
DERMOT SAYS: “If you see that you would say yes, but if you look at it up close you are out of luck.
“He doesn't catch Chalobah, it's the other way around. He paid a high price for the earlier yellow card.
“If you see it the way the referee sees it, I understand why he sent him off, it looks like a lunging challenge.
“But it does show that you cannot change the second yellow.”
'No second yellow review was intended to reduce the number of downtimes'
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher on whether second yellow cards should be assessed by VAR:
“At the moment the VAR is evolving. I don't know if that will happen.
“There was the [Carlos] Baleba last week, which everyone thought wasn't a yellow card.
'It could gain ground, but at the moment that is impossible.
“I think it depends on the number of interruptions [which have stopped it being brought in]. It will evolve, we are in a better place than we were five years ago.”
Dermot: No discussion about the final whistle at the Palace
INCIDENT: Rob Jones blows the final whistle at Selhurst Park as Jeremy Doku looks to counter-attack from a Crystal Palace corner.
DERMOT SAYS: “It explodes very early, doesn't it? They're 70 meters from the goal.
“I don't see many arguments here. He still has so far to travel with the ball and the referee has to blow his whistle at some point.
“He wants to blow in a safe period. It is 70 meters from the goal and I see nothing other than this is a safe period.”
Fulham 1-1 Arsenal
Dermot: The VAR did well to take the time for Saliba's goal
INCIDENT: William Saliba's equalizer for Arsenal at Fulham is awarded following a VAR check after initially being ruled offside following Kai Havertz's header to put it on the tee.
DERMOT SAYS: “If you remember the infamous Arsenal-Brentford match where VAR gave up the decision, it took a little longer here.
“They explained to the referee here that it would take some time to check and get the lines on. It took some time, but they got it right.”
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