Arsenal were today seeking an explanation from refereeing body Pro Ref over the officiating of set pieces in their win over Sunderland as the fallout expands from a weekend of contentious decisions in the Premier League.
Manchester United were already the recipients of an apology from Pro Ref over a mistake in their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, the video assistant referee intervening to award a goal to Erling Haaland, who was ruled onside by Patrick Dorgu's boot when the cross he turned in was played by Josko Gvardiol. Enzo Fernandez, diving to head the ball in an offside position, was deemed not to have affected the play by the VAR.
"It was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective," Pro Ref said in a statement. "However, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review.
"Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place."
Whether this 1-0 win for Enzo Maresca's side will have a meaningful impact on the seasons of other clubs remains to be seen. However, it is certainly plausible that City will be vying with Arsenal come the spring months and while the Gunners may have been disappointed to see last season's second-placed side, down to 10 men, pick up a surprise win, they will be equally concerned about events at the Stadium of Light.
On Saturday night Sunderland were awarded a penalty when Ezri Konsa was adjudged to have hauled Daniel Ballard to the ground. Replays suggested that Ballard might have initiated the contact, grabbing both of the defender's arms in what Mikel Arteta termed a "judo hold". VAR officials supported John Brooks' onfield assessment that Konsa was "all over him at the near post facing the wrong way".
Speaking after the game, an incandescent Arteta said the decision "is not acceptable at this level". He added that such a mistake "changes the course of the season and can cost you the championship". Ultimately that did not happen on Saturday night as David Raya saved brilliantly from Enzo Le Fee, moments before Bruno Guimaraes scored the opening goal at the other end.
Regardless, Arsenal are understood to be seeking an explanation from Pro Ref over the officiating both of that specific decision and of set pieces more broadly. That is an issue that came under the spotlight at the start of the season with officials increasing their emphasis on "non-footballing actions" at set pieces.
If the penalty against Arsenal was more a matter of debate, City's goal appears to be a more straightforward error, one described as an "injustice" by Lisandro Martinez, who was trying to cover the threat of both Fernandez and Haaland.
CBS Sports' rule expert Christina Unkel said of the decision: "At this level this is not something you can nor should miss. There's interfering with play, which is the actual touch... but they're missing that second critical interfering with an opponent. That is a straightforward, obvious one.
"When you're breaking this down... it comes down to trying to understand where the team got it wrong and how you fix that, not just for this team but every single referee team in the group. Go back to the basics. How did we have a VAR, an assistant VAR and a support VAR not take a look at interfering with an opponent.
"It's a time and a moment where you're not rushed. You have the time and the moment to take a little bit longer, there is a ball in the back of the net. There is not as much pressure to have to make a quick enough decision that you don't go through the appropriate protocols.
"Why do they not have the confidence and/or completely miss the step? If so how do we make sure we go back to the protocols so we can recommend it down. This is a decision that goes to Michael Oliver if they had properly recommended it down for him to make the final decision on the subjective play."
