Ref Watch’s Dermot Gallagher questioned why referee Thomas Bramall noticed the grappling between Rodrigo Bentancur and Dan Byrne but “ignored” it and needed VAR to award a penalty.
In the draw at St James’ Park, a Tottenham midfielder was penalized for dragging Byrne onto the floor, giving Newcastle a spot-kick, but there was debate as to whether it was a foul.
Dermot explained in the mid-week special edition of Ref Watch: “I think this raises a lot of questions.
“Just before the corner, Thomas Bramall went up to the two players and said to Bentancur, “You’re looking the wrong way.”
“He told them: If I were that referee, when I go back to my position, I would focus on the referee.”
“The club was warned about players not going for the ball and he never did that. There is no doubt about that and he risks being awarded a penalty.”
“The referee’s focus is on those players – you have to think that way because he made those decisions.
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Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards were baffled by Newcastle’s penalty against Spurs and questioned the referee’s consistency
“So you would think he would look at it and think it was not a penalty. Then VAR would say, ‘Is that a clear mistake?’
“They were grappling and he (Bentancur) didn’t see the ball. The referee cleared the ball but VAR said no and the referee went to the screen where he saw something he didn’t see in the game.”
“It’s a mystery to me. Why would he identify it and yet ignore it?”
Former Premier League striker Jay Bothroyd also believed it was a penalty, adding: “When I first saw this I thought it might be a bit soft. The more I look at it the more I agree. It’s clearly a penalty.”
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Anthony Gordon scores a penalty and Newcastle take the lead again!
“When you learn how to play football, you learn how to mark. Your shoulders are open so you can see, feel and glance at the same time.
“Dan Byrne tried to run there first and then he tried to run to the other side. Bentancur turned around because he knew he was making the wrong decision and he was trying to block him. I think that’s why he was given a penalty.”
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur
Ref Watch analyzed a number of other incidents, including a five-and-a-half minute VAR check at Molineux…
Wolves 0-1 Nottingham Forest
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Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd say Nottingham Forest’s goal was right to be ruled out for offside but why it took too long to reach a decision
Incident: Nottingham Forest have a goal disallowed against Wolves. When the corner kick comes in, Igor Jesus heads home, but look at the player directly in front of the goalkeeper.
Initially, the goal was scored, but VAR operator Rob Jones checked to see if Dan Doe was in an offside position and was blocking the goalkeeper’s line of sight.
The VAR review took more than five minutes.
Dermot said: “It was the right decision, but it was too complicated.
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Nottingham Forest’s goal was ruled out by VAR for offside after a review that took “more than five minutes” to decide
“I saw the shot coming from behind the goal and it was clearly in the goalkeeper’s field of vision, so I was able to clear it right away.
“If you look at it from the side, it’s clearly in the goalkeeper’s field of vision and it’s so close that it’s shocking, and he’s clearly offside.
“The assistant should know that he is in an offside position. Whether he knows he is in an offside position is another question.”
“As an official, you have a headset. You share your resources. Tell the referee, ‘He’s in an offside position.'” The referee can see where he is. He can say, “He’s in front of the goalie.”
“It takes five seconds. The flag goes up, the whistle blows and the free kick is awarded.”
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Premier League highlights of Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Nottingham Forest
Bothroyd said: “I saw it at full speed and immediately knew it was offside. It was easy to see.
“I don’t understand why it takes five and a half minutes. I don’t know what they’re looking at. I don’t understand.
“The linesman is interesting to me because what does he really see? He seems to have a laser focus on the future, but he misses something very obvious.
“Doesn’t he want to take responsibility and make decisions for himself? What are you waiting for?”
“The referees rely on VAR. They don’t want to make the wrong decision and they don’t want to be called in case they make the wrong decision.”
Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland
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The Ref Watch team discusses the decision not to award Sunderland a penalty following Dominik Szoboszlai and Dan Ballard’s close encounter.
Incident: Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai appeared to push Sunderland defender Dan Ballard inside the area, but nothing was given away.
Dermot said: “Ballard just doesn’t want to receive the ball. He feels someone touch his back and he just goes down. It also shows that this is a full contact game and contact with a player is not necessarily a foul.”
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Premier League highlights of Liverpool vs Sunderland
Jay Bothroyd: “He realizes he’s ahead of Szoboszlai, and when he gets ahead, he tries to fall back to initiate contact.
“It’s not like Ballard is standing and Szoboszlai pushed him. They both move into the area. Ballard realizes he’s in front. He stops and stretches his legs, and Szoboszlai gets behind him.”
Brighton 3-4 Aston Villa
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Too little, too late!? Jan Paul van Hecke scores a goal back against Brighton!
Incident: Prior to Brighton’s first goal, they were awarded a corner kick, but replays show it should not have been awarded.
Matty Cash headed the ball, but appeared to make contact with a Brighton player before going out. Brighton then scored from a corner kick through Jan Paul van Hecke.
A VAR check was then carried out on the handball in the goal itself, but not on the corner kick and the goal stood.
“It’s interesting because I don’t look at this as a judge and jury, but as a mindset,” Dermot said.
“When I was a referee, one of the referee’s jobs was to take a little bit of time. If you wait a second, you’d be surprised how things change and you’ll be able to gather a little more information to make a decision.
“The clues that were there were Brighton players. He turned himself in. These are all the clues you’re looking for.”
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Premier League match highlights between Brighton and Aston Villa
Should VAR rules be changed to award corner kicks?
“You can’t change the rules during the season. I really think there could be major rule changes, but we should be able to fix them during the season,” Bothroyd said.
“That’s something we can fix. So far this season, we’ve had about four or five times where we’ve been given a corner kick and scored from it, but it wasn’t the right decision. I think we’ll have to look at it, but how far do we go?”
“So do you go for a throw-in? Now we play in an era where there are long throws. If that throw goes the wrong way and someone throws it into the box and you score from there, do you see it?”
Dermot said: “You can’t change rules or protocols without experimenting, and normally if you do that it’s usually in a youth league or another national league.
“Right now they are talking about a trial at the World Cup because there is not enough time to do it before the World Cup.
“It comes from great fear. Imagine two teams playing in a World Cup final with five minutes left. That incident happens, a goal is scored, and that determines whether a team wins or loses the World Cup. It will never be forgotten and it will never be forgiven.”
