Leeds and Bournemouth furious after critical decisions were criticized and penalties denied, VAR blamed | Soccer News

“What was VAR doing? There is no clearer penalty than this.”

That was Leeds manager Daniel Farke’s reaction after his team lost 1-0 to Sunderland, but it could also have been the words of Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola.

Like Falke, Iraola was stunned that officials failed to see through what he and many other players thought was a “clear and obvious” penalty in the 0-0 draw between Bournemouth and Brentford.

Here we break down the key flashpoints and key reactions from another difficult night for authorities.

Use the poll below to have your say on the controversial decision…

Leeds 0-1 Sunderland

Incident: During the first half of Leeds’ 1-0 loss to Sunderland, Luke O’Nien grabbed Pascal Strujk by the neck in the box.

Referee Stuart Atwell doesn’t seem to have spotted the incident in real time. Sky Sports News understands that the incident was investigated by VAR, but it was deemed that no obvious fault had occurred.

Premier League Match Center revealed the decision to award Sunderland a penalty for Ethan Ampadu’s handball in the second half, but did not publish the reason behind this call against X.

reaction:

Farke is not critical of officials, but he felt it was VAR’s fault for missing the incident.

“That’s not even a question,” the Leeds manager told TNT Sport. “What was VAR doing? There is no clearer penalty than this.

“It’s hard to understand why this hasn’t been checked and rewatched.

“Stuart (Atwell) is a very experienced, very level-headed, good referee and if he had a chance to look at this he would have said, ‘This is a penalty all day long.’

“I don’t know what VAR is doing at this moment. No (I haven’t talked to the referee). It’s a scene for VAR, but it’s hard for the referee to see. It depends on his position. If you look back at the scene, it couldn’t be clearer.”

Falke’s distrust was echoed by former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson.

Dawson, who covered the game for Soccer Special, said during the match: “Leeds should have had a penalty. Pascal Strujk is trying to get over Luke O’Nien and he just has his arm straight around his neck.”

“I can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene.”

Former Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford took his criticism a step further. “I am very confused as to why the referee and VAR officials did not award a penalty,” he told TNT Sports. “It’s a sunny day. He was dragged to the ground with his arms around his neck. How is that not a penalty? It’s totally embarrassing.”

Incident: VAR intervened in the second half to recommend an on-field review after Leeds captain Ampadu may have committed a handball after Wilson Isidore’s shot bounced off his leg and body before hitting his arm.

Referee Attwell overturned the decision and awarded the spot kick. In a statement to Elland Road, he said: “After consideration, the Leeds player (number 4) intentionally handled the ball inside the penalty area. My final decision is a penalty.”

Sunderland almost scored with a penalty from Khabib Diarra. His spot-kick should have been saved by Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow. This was Sunderland’s only shot on target of the game.

reaction:

Farke seemed to agree with officials on the matter, saying: “This was the instinctive reaction of my most important and best player.” “Of course there was no need for that and we gave a penalty.

“They didn’t even have a chance. The penalty was almost missed. It’s hard to explain how the ball went in. Sometimes things like that happen in football. It’s difficult to take.”

Dawson was even more outraged than Falke when he immediately reacted on the soccer special.

“I think it’s going to be a very, very tough game. I don’t know what he’s going to do with his arm. People say he’s going to move his arm towards it. But all the Sunderland players went straight to him as soon as it happened.”

“He’s not really moving. His arm is moving forward, but it might be moving a little bit. It’s like it’s coming off his body and then off his chest and then rolling down into his arm.”

At the time of writing, most Sky Sports readers voted that this was the wrong decision.

Bournemouth 0-0 Brentford

Incident: During the 0-0 match between Bournemouth and Brentford, in what could be the defining match of European football, Marcus Tavernier ran past Michael Cayode, was caught by the defender on his Achilles tendon, and then his shot hit the post.

VAR match official Darren England reviewed the incident, but Bournemouth were not awarded a penalty. Premier League Match Center has not commented on the incident.

reaction:

Iraola criticized the decision, claiming referee Craig Pawson and VAR missed a “clear” penalty against his team.

“There was a big penalty call, but it didn’t go away,” Iraola said. “VAR checked and we cleared it in time.”
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“Tuffs were trying to score and were clearly fouled, but somehow neither the referee nor VAR awarded a penalty. In my opinion, it was very obvious.”

Tavernier echoed that statement, saying he felt the contact inside the box but was disappointed that VAR ignored the incident.

“Yeah (I thought it was a penalty). I thought that right away,” he told TNT Sports.

“As I ran through, I felt contact on my arm, and then as I ran through, I felt contact on my Achilles tendon.

“I spoke to the referee afterwards and he said it had been checked immediately and there was nothing more that could be done.

“I felt the contact and you know the laws of the game these days, especially when you have VAR, but today it wasn’t meant to be and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to.

“As you can see, when the ball comes to me, I’m off balance and in the air. If he didn’t touch me, I’d probably have a routine finish. We’re working on that every day in training.”

“It’s too bad they didn’t pick it up, but we’ll have to go again.”