With nine Premier League games across Saturday and Sunday, it’s been a very busy weekend of football.
Fans were treated to some wonder goals, heroic comebacks and, as always, their fair share of red cards and robust tackles.
With the Premier League being one of the last major domestic leagues to embrace the use of VAR, referees have their work cut out for them week in, week out.
So, here at Squawka, we have reviewed the eight biggest calls made by the men with the whistles in Matchday three to see how they performed.
1. Etienne Capoue
Watford 2-1 Crystal Palace
Etienne Capoue and Wilfried Zaha have met before
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Just four minutes into the first half of this fiery encounter, Watford’s Etienne Capoue challenged Wilfried Zaha from behind, raking his studs down the back of the Ivorian’s leg. It was late, cynical and very dangerous.
Decision: Free kick and a yellow card.
Did he get it right? No. Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness said: “He set out to nail Zaha and the referee has either bottled it or he does not understand football.”
The only reason you can think of for Taylor not showing a red card was how early in the game it was – that is no excuse.
Would VAR have helped? Yes. A foul that originally received a yellow card could be reviewed if a potential red card was warranted, which was surely the case here.
2. Richarlison
Bournemouth 2-2 Everton
Referee: Lee Probert
An exchange of words between Bournemouth’s Adam Smith and Everton’s Richarlison led to the latter putting his head toward that of the former.
Decision: Straight red card for violent conduct.
Did he get it right? Yes. Richarlison on Smith was soft and barely qualified as a headbutt but it does count as violent conduct – Richarlison was naive to allow himself to be needlessly drawn into it.
Would VAR have helped? No. Soft or not, the referee got this one right and wouldn’t have required VAR.
3. Willy Boly
Wolves 1-1 Manchester City
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Wolves put in a wonderfully spirited performance against the Premier League champions on Saturday, even taking the lead through Willy Boly – or more specifically, Willy Boly’s potentially offside arm.
Decision: Goal.
Did he get it right? No. Ex-Premier League ref Mark Clattenburg said, as reported by the Daily Mail: “He changes the direction of the ball and gained an advantage by doing so – It should have been a free-kick to Manchester City.”
Would VAR have helped? Yes. It is hard to criticise Martin Atkinson too much for missing this one, but VAR would have shown him a clear hand ball and maybe even an offside against Boly.
4. Adam Smith
Bournemouth 2-2 Everton
Referee: Lee Probert
As Theo Walcott broke through on goal via Jordan Pickford’s brilliant long ball, Bournemouth defender Adam Smith was adjudged to have pulled the Everton winger back and denied him a one-on-one chance with Asmir Begovic.
Decision: Free kick and a straight red card.
Did he get it right? Yes. The FA’s official ruling on a straight red card reads: “Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent whose overall movement is towards the offender’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick.”
This was certainly the case here, even if the contact on Walcott was minimal.
Would VAR have helped? No. Lee Probert got this one spot on and VAR wouldn’t have been needed.
5. DeAndre Yedlin on Olivier Giroud
Newcastle United 1-1 Chelsea
Referee: Paul Tierney
A long ball up for Newcastle was challenged by DeAndre Yedlin and Olivier Giroud, with the former elbowing Giroud in the process of winning the ball in the lead up to Joselu’s equaliser for the Magpies.
Decision: No foul, Newcastle went on to score from Yedlin’s cross.
Did he get it right? No. After the game, Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports: “Is it a foul? Yes. Does he mean to hurt him? No.” Whether he meant it or not is in question, but Yedlin’s elbow on Giroud is a foul all day long.
Would VAR have helped? Yes. As stated by FIFA: “The role of the VAR is to assist the referee to determine whether there was an infringement that means a goal should not be awarded.” The elbow is in the direct build-up to the goal and play should have been pulled back.
6. Jonathan Hogg
Huddersfield 0-0 Cardiff City
Referee: Michael Oliver
Huddersfield’s Jonathan Hogg got involved in an aggressive head-to-head with Cardiff’s Harry Arter – Hogg then moved his head toward Arter before throwing the Irish midfielder to the floor.
Decision: Straight red card for violent conduct.
Did he get it right? Yes. Arter was by no means an innocent party here but even David Wagner agreed that he was smarter than Hogg, saying, via Sky Sports: “Both players were aggressive but one player was more clever than the other one and the clever one was not my player.”
Would VAR have helped? No. Michael Oliver made the correct decision and VAR was not required here.
7. Fabian Schar on Marcos Alonso
Newcastle United 1-2 Chelsea
Referee: Paul Tierney
Marcos Alonso received the ball in the box from Eden Hazard before attempting to take on Newcastle’s Fabian Schar. According to Paul Tierney, the Swiss defender unfairly brought Alonso down.
Decision: Penalty to Chelsea.
Did he get it right? No. It was a clumsy challenge, but it was still a fair one. Schar gets enough of the ball before bringing Alonso down and, if you look again, the Spaniard actually has a hold on the Newcastle man’s arm. A sentiment shared on Sky, as reported by the Express, by Shola Ameobi: “If that was in the middle of the park, I don’t think that would have been a free kick, because I think he gets the ball first.”
Would VAR have helped? Yes. Penalty or not, VAR would have given Paul Tierney another chance to review the decision from all angles to make a more informed choice.
8. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Southampton 1-2 Leicester City
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Having already been booked, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg senselessly got himself sent off for simulation in the Leicester penalty area.
Decision: Second yellow card for simulation.
Did he get it right? Yes. Mark Hughes may protest it was harsh, but Foxes boss Claude Puel summed it up perfectly, saying, via BBC: “If it is simulation, it is a natural yellow card.”
Would VAR have helped? No. The FA rules state that a yellow card can be given for ‘attempts to deceive the referee e.g. by feigning injury or pretending to have been fouled (simulation).’ Jonathan Moss was right to brandish a second yellow.
The post We reviewed the eight biggest refereeing decisions in the Premier League this weekend appeared first on Squawka News.
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