Video assistant referees have been prompted to take charge in challenging match officials following several controversial decisions witnessed thus far this campaign.
Such decisions have taken the front burner on many occasions, with fans, players, coaches, and stakeholders infuriated at the impact of those calls.
Most notably, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan was wrongly punished and deemed to have fouled Newcastle United's Fabian Schar during their 2-2 draw on October 28, 2023.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb feels the Video Assistant Referees should have advised the referee in that game to have a second personal look at the decision.
Webb said: “We are asking VARs to have a look and if they don't like the decision, ask the referee what they saw.”
The game was tied at 1-1 during stoppage time of the first 45, and referee Anthony Taylor signaled for a penalty to the Magpies when Hwang challenged Schar for the ball in Wolves' box.
Videos appeared to have shown Fabian Schar already heading down after kicking the turf before any contact whatsoever was made
There was a lengthy VAR review conducted but the earlier decision made by Anthony Taylor remained, and Callum Wilson dispatched the resultant spot-kick.
Gary O'Neil, Wolves boss termed the decision as “scandalous” and the Englishman has on many occasions this campaign been a stern critic of Premier League referees.
There have been several decisions that have gone against Wolverhampton Wanderers this campaign, including a penalty not being handed to his side against Manchester United at the start of the season and a penalty wrongly given to Sheffield United.
Both decisions against the Red Devils and Sheffield United respectively could have resulted in those games ending in different ways, as Wolves could have drawn the game against Erik Ten Hag's men and also shared the spoils with the Blades.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up, and in a Premier League Productions programme which analysis VAR calls from the previous months.
Howard Webb acknowledged the error to hand Newcastle United a penalty against Wolves and has now made it known that VAR officials are pricked to challenge match officials for critical reasons when making contentious calls.
An excerpt from his comments on the show reads:
“VAR shouldn't re-referee the game and be reserved for clear situations when errors occur on the field.
“In this situation we see Hwang does not play the ball, it is played onto him by Schar and then there is contact between the players.
He noted the possible disparity between what Anthony Taylor saw at first look and what occurred with the benefit of a replay.
Howard Webb said: “But what the referee has seen in real time is Hwang bring that leg through and make contact with Schar.
“If we see the replay, Hwang pulls his swing back a little bit, Schar brings his foot through and there's contact.
“We feel this reaches the threshold for it being a clear and obvious error, even though there is contact.”
He added that video assistant referees going into subsequent matches should advise the referee to have a second look at the decision via the monitor in case they are not in tandem with the on-field decision.
In other massive calls that have generated huge controversy in recent weeks, notably Scott Mctominay's goal against Fulham and Anthony Gordon's goal against Arsenal, Howard Webb praised the process of getting to the decision made by the officials.
Additionally, he also termed the decision to dismiss Christian Romero in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur as being an “excellent process” despite the lengthy time taken to make the call.
Such decisions have taken the front burner on many occasions, with fans, players, coaches, and stakeholders infuriated at the impact of those calls.
Most notably, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan was wrongly punished and deemed to have fouled Newcastle United's Fabian Schar during their 2-2 draw on October 28, 2023.
PGMOL chief Howard Webb feels the Video Assistant Referees should have advised the referee in that game to have a second personal look at the decision.
Webb said: “We are asking VARs to have a look and if they don't like the decision, ask the referee what they saw.”
The game was tied at 1-1 during stoppage time of the first 45, and referee Anthony Taylor signaled for a penalty to the Magpies when Hwang challenged Schar for the ball in Wolves' box.
Videos appeared to have shown Fabian Schar already heading down after kicking the turf before any contact whatsoever was made
There was a lengthy VAR review conducted but the earlier decision made by Anthony Taylor remained, and Callum Wilson dispatched the resultant spot-kick.
Gary O'Neil, Wolves boss termed the decision as “scandalous” and the Englishman has on many occasions this campaign been a stern critic of Premier League referees.
There have been several decisions that have gone against Wolverhampton Wanderers this campaign, including a penalty not being handed to his side against Manchester United at the start of the season and a penalty wrongly given to Sheffield United.
Both decisions against the Red Devils and Sheffield United respectively could have resulted in those games ending in different ways, as Wolves could have drawn the game against Erik Ten Hag's men and also shared the spoils with the Blades.
Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up, and in a Premier League Productions programme which analysis VAR calls from the previous months.
Howard Webb acknowledged the error to hand Newcastle United a penalty against Wolves and has now made it known that VAR officials are pricked to challenge match officials for critical reasons when making contentious calls.
An excerpt from his comments on the show reads:
“VAR shouldn't re-referee the game and be reserved for clear situations when errors occur on the field.
“In this situation we see Hwang does not play the ball, it is played onto him by Schar and then there is contact between the players.
He noted the possible disparity between what Anthony Taylor saw at first look and what occurred with the benefit of a replay.
Howard Webb said: “But what the referee has seen in real time is Hwang bring that leg through and make contact with Schar.
“If we see the replay, Hwang pulls his swing back a little bit, Schar brings his foot through and there's contact.
“We feel this reaches the threshold for it being a clear and obvious error, even though there is contact.”
He added that video assistant referees going into subsequent matches should advise the referee to have a second look at the decision via the monitor in case they are not in tandem with the on-field decision.
In other massive calls that have generated huge controversy in recent weeks, notably Scott Mctominay's goal against Fulham and Anthony Gordon's goal against Arsenal, Howard Webb praised the process of getting to the decision made by the officials.
Additionally, he also termed the decision to dismiss Christian Romero in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur as being an “excellent process” despite the lengthy time taken to make the call.