PGMOL chairman Howard Webb discusses the decision to leave the goal in place.
This week on Match Officials: Mic’d Up, a Sky Sports program, the VAR audio detailing why Luton Town striker Carlton Morris’s contentious late goal against Burnley last Friday night was allowed to stand was made available.
The Clarets keeper James Trafford, who had dropped to the ground frequently during the game while collecting the ball, foolishly came out to capture Alfie Doughty’s promising cross, setting off a frenzy that lasted until stoppage time. Morris was able to head into the empty net to make it 1-1 after he clashed with Elijah Adebayo, the striker, after he had clearly misjudged the delivery’s trajectory. Along with his assistance, on-field referee Tony Harington gave the goal; however, VAR in Stockley Park verified that the England U21 international had been fouled.
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The conversation went as follows: VAR official Peter Bankes was glad to uphold the call, but his deputy Constantine Hatzidakis questioned it, believing Adebayo had obstructed Trafford with his body. Harrington: On-field goal Trafford, in my opinion, collides with the forward as much. Assistant: I do agree, please. I believe Trafford enters Adebayo. The forward, in my opinion, holds his ground. VAR: The goalie exits the field. There are eleven move-ins. contact from side to side. AVAR: Does the attacker move in the goalie’s direction?
VAR: The goalkeeper has the ability to jump and use his arms, but given that the keeper is advancing, I don’t perceive a clear and obvious error. Do you disagree? AVAR: It seems like the attacker is making a movement toward the goalkeeper. VAR: Yeah, is it sufficient for a foul on the keeper who can jump and use his hands? The keeper doesn’t attempt to jump to play the ball. AVAR: I understand. VAR: Okay, I’m willing to uphold the on-field decision of a goal.
Former Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen shared his thoughts on the issue during the program, stating, “It’s a really interesting one that split a lot of opinions. Even the VAR assistant seemed not entirely convinced. I happen to think it was a free kick myself.”
Meanwhile, Howard Webb, former top-flight referee and head of the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), explained why VAR didn’t overturn Harrington’s decision on the evening, saying, “The on-field decision is always crucial for us when considering how we utilize VAR. In this situation, the on-field officials believed there was no foul; they saw two players coming together. You hear the assistant referee confirming what the referee has seen in the moment, so the starting point is they don’t think it’s a foul.”
“VAR looks at that in that context to see whether or not that decision in his opinion is a clear and obvious error. The AVAR actually felt it might be, you can hear him talking about the attacker’s movement. You see the goalkeeper Trafford coming out, you see Adebayo moving, he’s always moving in that direction, at the very end of the piece there’s a little movement towards the goalkeeper, some people see this as normal football contact.
“I can understand why Burnley would expect they should get a free kick in that situation but I’ve spoken to a whole host of people who don’t see it that way at all, who see it as that normal football contact that the officials on the field saw at that moment and the split between the VAR and AVAR is something that’s not very clear and VAR was brought in to rectify very clear situations. So I understand why you think a foul might be the better decision, but that’s a different question to whether or not the non award of a foul is clearly wrong.”
Discussing the goal afterwards, Town chief Rob Edwards conceded he was expecting it to be disallowed even though he felt the contact was ‘minimal’. Asked if he felt it demonstrated VAR wasn’t working as it should, he added: “That’s the problem with VAR there as that still comes down to someone’s opinion doesn’t it. it’s not like a factual black and white decision, is it really clear and obvious? Everyone in here will have different opinions on it, and people will see it from a different angle and go ‘there’s contact, or actually it doesn’t look too bad from another angle.’
“I just think we’re asking them to re-ref the game from miles away in a studio. So if the referee hasn’t given that decision on the field, then tonight, that decision away from here has gone from us. But it’s because it’s opinions and we’re all going to see it differently, that’s where it’s really hard with things like that. It can (work) for certain things if you do it on facts, factual decisions, offsides and things like that. I’ve said this before, when it comes down to someone’s opinion, no, you’re never going to get it spot on as everyone’s going to have different ideas on it.”
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