Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has said that VAR was right not to award a penalty to Tottenham after Harry Kane went down under a clumsy challenge from Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles.
Lascelles seemed to fall and bring Kane down in the box, and the Newcastle player didn’t make any contact with the ball.
However, Mike Dean decided it was not a penalty and he was vindicated by VAR after a brief check.
Talking on Sky Sports Ref Watch (Sky Sports, Monday, 11.30am) Gallagher said, “My initial reaction is that it was a penalty. However, when I’ve seen it again I’m not so sure.
“It’s sparked a lot of debate, but if you look the ball goes to the right, he [Kane] sees Lascelles and he steps into him. I can see why VAR hasn’t awarded the penalty.”
Pressed as to whether he thought it should have been a penalty Gallagher said, “I don’t think it is. I thought it was a penalty, now I’m not convinced, and it’s because of that doubt that VAR can’t intervene.”
TiF Verdict
VAR is still in its infancy and the Premier League is still working out how to implement rules, but so far this season it seems the bar has been set high for overturning an on-field penalty decision.
The rule is that it has to be a clear and obvious error from the referee and there were plenty of pundits who thought that was the case in the Kane incident.
Robbie Keane was talking on Sky’s live coverage of the game (Sky Sports, Sunday, 4.30pm) and was one of the pundits who thought it was a clear penalty and that VAR should have overturned Dean’s decision.
However, in the same studio, Graeme Souness and Joleon Lescott both agreed with Dean and thought it was no penalty.
Dermot Gallagher said he thought it was a penalty to start and then changed his mind.
That seems far from a clear and obvious mistake from the referee. Interestingly, by the same token, if the penalty had been awarded it’s unlikely that it would have been ruled out by VAR.
That’s how it should work. The only problem could be referees erring on the side of caution, knowing the VAR safety net is there to save them if they make a mistake.
VAR should be there wherever possible to let the referee on the pitch make the decision and that’s what happened at Tottenham on Sunday.