Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher assesses the controversial moments from the weekend's action, including Brighton's penalty against Arsenal.
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal
INCIDENT: Mikel Arteta was extremely disappointed with the penalty awarded to Brighton for something he has 'never seen in his life' – a clash of heads between William Saliba and Joao Pedro.
Anthony Taylor decided it was a penalty, but replays showed Saliba getting a fair share of the ball…
DERMOT SAYS: It's certainly interesting.
The problem is that once you see it, and Anthony Taylor is dishing out the punishment, and once you start investigating it, you can't unsee it.
What you see is Pedro heading the ball onto Saliba's head. People say he got the ball, but he didn't, the ball hit him. He then grabs him with his head and they get up, so it seems worse.
The referee gives the penalty on the field and I believe that the VAR has no right to intervene.
INCIDENT: While the penalty was being taken for Brighton, an incident took place where Jorginho was sent off. No contact has been made here, but we saw last week with Joao Pedro that contact does not matter.
DERMOT SAYS: Contact must be violent or cruel.
I think this is hurtful. It has been checked and the VAR judges it to be sulky.
If the referee sees it, he can do a number of things. He can show a yellow or red card. The VAR can only issue a red card. I don't think it's a red card, so VAR should back off.
Tottenham 1-2 Newcastle
INCIDENT: A controversial early equalizer for Newcastle. Anthony Gordon with the goal, but should it have been disallowed due to a Joelinton handball in the build-up?
DERMOT SAYS: It's the law, isn't it. The law asks: did he deliberately handle the ball?
It didn't directly lead to Joelinton scoring, so it goes back to whether it was intentional or not. If you look at it, his arm is up and down at his side.
He can't take it any further. There is no doubt that the ball hits him, so the argument is whether or not it is intentional.
The referee and VAR said no, so whether they like it or not, that's the law and they have to keep playing.
Was it an unnatural position?
I think his arm starts out in an unnatural position, but you could very clearly see him trying to bring his arm in. The law has changed to him being the scorer, but he wasn't the scorer.
People don't like it, but that's the law. He brings his arm in.
INCIDENT: Andy Madley awarded Spurs a free-kick due to a Dan Burn handball with the Newcastle defender already booked.
DERMOT SAYS:
Handball is not a mandatory yellow card. He has to ask if it breaks a promising attack. I felt a little for Dan Burn as he tries to bring his arm in.
This is basically what players are trying to do now: make themselves smaller. I think it's on the halfway line, so the referee is right to award the free kick.
INCIDENT: Joelinton was involved again. Was he lucky to get away with hitting Lucas Bergvall with his elbow?
DERMOT SAYS: I don't think it's a red card. They are close together and I don't think he threw it as a weapon. He's too close to have any power behind it.
INCIDENT: Newcastle wanted a penalty when Dejan Kulusevski collided with Anthony Gordon in the box.
DERMOT SAYS: I have to keep my hand up here because when I saw this the first time I actually thought it was a penalty.
I often think you have to rely on your gut reaction, but the man is already there, so what can he do? He can't make himself invisible, so I think they collide and the referee is right.
Fulham 2-2 Ipswich
INCIDENT: Fulham boss Marco Silva was convinced Leif Davis should have been sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity after this foul on Harry Wilson. Officials disagreed with that view.
DERMOT SAYS: I think Dara O'Shea, because he makes a heavy touch, gets a chance to get to the ball. For me it went from obvious to possible, and the referee thought so too. The VAR looked and found that there was enough doubt and therefore it was not a red card.
INCIDENT: Harry Wilson was involved in the decision to award Fulham a penalty after being tripped by Sam Morsy. Darren Bond sent to the monitor by VAR Paul Tierney. Wilson also appeared to direct some choice words in the direction of referee Bond.
DERMOT SAYS: I feel like the referee on the field feels like he's cutting his own heels, which he does, but he gets cut first. It is a good VAR intervention.
The only thing I think saved Harry Wilson [for his reaction] Because the referee has the VAR talking in his ear and discussing what to do, he loses sight of what Wilson is doing.
I have to tell you, Rob, that this is a very, very, very dangerous thing to do. I think he is so lucky to have escaped severe punishment.
INCIDENT: Ipswich were subsequently awarded a penalty for Timothy Castagne's foul on Liam Delap. This time there was no hesitation from the referee.
DERMOT SAYS: He catches it with both his foot and his upper body. I think the referee sees both and awards the penalty. I think this is the right decision. Once the referee has given it, the call on the field always remains valid.
INCIDENT: Then a third penalty. This was awarded to Fulham due to a foul by Leif Davis on Raul Jimenez.
DERMOT SAYS: It's an easy decision if you do it right, and he did it right. It's just a mistimed challenge. It's a foul and a penalty.
INCIDENT: There were shouts in the first half over a Fulham penalty for handball by Luke Woolfenden. The VAR said no because his arm was next to him.
DERMOT SAYS: His arm is at his side, there's no doubt about that, so what could he do? I would have been very angry if he had fined me for that.
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester United
INCIDENT: Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the second half when VAR intervened for a handball against Matthijs de Ligt. Michael Oliver was sent to the screen after not giving it, but then pointed to the spot.
DERMOT SAYS: It's a fair intervention because the rule is whether his arm is above the shoulder.
Well, it obviously does and the ball flies off the head of the player in front of him.
His arm is too high.
It's a good intervention from VAR and they did it quickly. They sent the referee to the screen and he gave it straight away.
INCIDENT: Darwin Nunez was shown a yellow card for colluding with De Ligt – but could it have been more than yellow?
DERMOT SAYS: I think a yellow card.
If you look at Nunez, he never looks at the ball. He always looks at the player.
But he catches him in the chest and he doesn't come from far away.
These are the factors that prevent it from becoming a red card.
Crystal Palace 1-1 Chelsea
INCIDENT: Should Chelsea have been awarded a penalty at Crystal Palace after Tyrick Mitchell brought down Pedro Neto?
DERMOT SAYS: When I first saw it I didn't think it was a penalty.
During the flight of the ball I thought Mitchell got the ball. But when you slow down, you see that he doesn't really get the ball.
What I will say, however, is that it is far from a clear and obvious error.
Southampton 0-5 Brentford
INCIDENT: Brentford had a goal disallowed at Southampton. Sepp Van den Berg's header was disallowed after Stuart Attwell was sent to the monitor to watch Yoane Wissa foul Jan Bednarek in the six-yard box.
DERMOT SAYS: I think it's a good spot because I didn't see it while watching the game.
Once your attention is focused on something, you can't unsee it. As soon as you see it, the referee goes to the monitor and says: I have now seen what I did not see during the game.
Bournemouth 1-0 Everton
INCIDENT: Bournemouth did have a claim for a penalty. Was Dango Ouattara caught by Orel Mangala when he tried to clear the ball?
DERMOT SAYS: The feeling was that the Bournemouth player has gone into him. I actually think he needs to be aware of what's going on around him. He was lucky. If he gave a penalty, we wouldn't argue.
Sue Smith on Sky Sports News:
It is certainly not a fine.
Stephen Warnock on Sky Sports News:
He is oblivious to the people around him as he goes to clear the ball. But if you stand in the penalty area and wave your leg and think you can make contact as if you have an acre of space and there are no players around you, then you are very mistaken. It's a huge risk.
It's a fine. It's unbelievable how they made decisions this weekend, but there you go.
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