Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb has admitted the decision to rule out Josh King’s goal in Fulham’s 2-0 defeat by Chelsea was a “misjudgement”.
18-year-old King thought he had scored his first senior goal for Fulham after finishing coolly past Robert Sanchez in the 22nd minute of Saturday’s Premier League west London derby at Stamford Bridge.
However, VAR intervened and the goal was ruled out after Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz was adjudged to have fouled Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah in the build-up.
The decision drew widespread criticism, and Webb has now acknowledged the error.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up, Webb admitted that VAR official Michael Salisbury, who was subsequently stood down from Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday, had failed to look at the full context of Muniz’s challenge.
"It wasn't controversial; it was wrong. We've established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR," Webb said.
"They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm, and tempo of the game. We've also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.”
"In this situation, that guidance wasn't followed properly. There was a misjudgement by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah.
"The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened."
VAR has again been a major talking point in the early weeks of the new season, but Webb has defended its use, saying there has been a reduction in VAR involvements in the last 18 months.
"We've done really well in the last 18 months or so to reduce our involvement, with respect to the referee's call," he said.
"We've seen less interventions in the Premier League than any other major league in Europe, so we need to continue doing that.
"We understand the importance of these decisions. We understand that if we get it wrong like we did on this occasion, the impact is significant - and we're always, always striving to do better."
