In Ref Watch, former referee Dermot Gallagher discusses the contentious events of the weekend, including Jarrod Bowen’s penalty that led to Erik ten Hag’s dismissal from Manchester United; VAR denied Arsenal’s late goal against Liverpool and disallowed Aston Villa’s opening goal.
Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, discusses the weekend’s major events in the most recent edition of Ref Watch. These include Arsenal’s disallowed winner against Liverpool and West Ham’s late penalty to defeat Manchester United.
Man Utd 2-1 West Ham
INCIDENT: David Coote initially waved play on after United defender Matthijs de Ligt made contact with Danny Ings of West Ham. Coote gave West Ham a penalty, which Jarrod Bowen scored after Michael Oliver on VAR advised him to go to the monitor.
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“I’m speculating, but I believe he’s seen the thighs come together and believes De Ligt has gotten into him,” DERMOT says. He took a brief glance, made a decision, and gave a recommendation.
But that’s the main problem—it’s advised. There is a firm belief that things will change if you go to the monitor, as we all say.The referee will consider it, but they do have all of their alternatives. it’s because, by definition, you’re being called to the monitor because they believe you’ve made a glaring and obvious mistake. The more I saw it, the more I was certain it wasn’t a penalty, so I genuinely believed he would stick with the on-field ruling.”
“We’ve reached the point where we’re discussing the referee’s on-field decision,” says Stephen Warnock. Why VAR Michael Oliver felt compelled to comment on that is beyond me.