VAR was introduced to the Premier League in 2019 but they are still making plenty of mistakes four years down the line – here are our top 5 VAR errors of this season so far.
5. Jarrod Bowen Denied Last-Gasp Equaliser
Jarrod Bowen was denied a last minute equaliser in a London Derby in one of the earlier games of the season, as VAR judged the Englishman to have committed a foul on Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy.
Bowen made an attempt to jump over the onrushing Chelsea goalkeeper however made slight contact with the Senegalese shot-stopper, with a quick VAR check disallowing what would have been a huge last-minute equaliser in the derby.
The PGMOL later admitted that this was a mistake and the West Ham goal should have stood, which was just one of many errors made so far this season.
4. Manchester United Wall Further Back Than Required
A slightly different mistake to the rest of the errors on this list came in a Manchester United defeat to Aston Villa in November last year, as referee Anthony Taylor forced the United wall back further than needed from a free-kick, which Lucas Digne then curled into the corner of the net.
Christian Eriksen appeared to inform the referee that the wall was too far back, however the referee was having none of it and let Digne whip the free kick into the top corner to give Villa a 2-0 lead.
Who knows how the game could have ended if the United wall were allowed forward to block the free kick, all we do know is that Villa went on to win the game 3-1 and United were left baffled as to how the free kick was allowed to stand.
3. Brentford Equalise From An Offside Position vs Arsenal
The first of two mistakes affecting Arsenal on this list came as recent as the 11th of February, as Brentford’s equaliser was wrongly allowed to stand after Lee Mason, who was on VAR, failed to check the positioning of Christian Norgaard, who assisted the goal from an offside position.
Lee Mason FORGOT to draw the offside lines on Ivan Toney's equaliser.
Christian Norgaard was offside in the build-up. Had the lines been drawn, the goal would have been disallowed.
Arsenal would be 8 points clear… 😬 pic.twitter.com/V5TYUzhpNO
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) February 12, 2023
Lee Mason only reviewed Ethan Pinnock’s involvement during the build up and failed to look at Norgaard, meaning the goal was allowed to stand and Arsenal dropped points as the equaliser was allowed to stand.
With Arsenal now just three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, only time will tell how costly Lee Mason’s VAR error might prove to be in this season’s title race. Mason officially resigned from the PGMOL after the error, with many calling for a change to the system rather than the personnel in charge.
2. VAR Draw Lines On Wrong Player
There wasn’t just one clear error last weekend in the league, as a second mistake was made in the Crystal Palace-Brighton game that meant Pervis Estupiñán had his opener incorrectly chalked off for being offside.
John Brooks and his VAR team placed the lines on a wrong player during a check for the Ecuadorian’s goal, which meant that the goal was disallowed when it was a perfectly good one, with Brighton dropping points as a consequence in a 1-1 draw.
The PGMOL recognised their mistakes after the game, and also addressed their errors in the Arsenal game from earlier that same day.
“PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday.
“Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL.”
1. Gabriel Martinelli disallowed goal vs Manchester United
Gabriel Martinelli thought he had taken the lead against United early in September, as the Brazilian sprinted through on goal and expertly finished past David De Gea in net to give Arsenal the advantage.
The goal was quickly disallowed after an on-field check, with the referee coming back to a soft foul on Christian Eriksen earlier in the play which left Arsenal fans and players seething.
Arsenal went on to lose the game 3-1 and who knows what could have happened if Martinelli’s goal was allowed to stand, with the Gunners now clinging on to a three point advantage at the top of the table they certainly could’ve done with the goal being given.
The Martinelli disallowed goal remains the highest profile mistake acknowledged by the PGMOL this season and could yet play a huge role in this season’s title race.
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