Howard Webb, the head of the Premier League referees' committee, has backed the VAR's decision not to intervene during a controversial incident involving a hard challenge by Sven Botman on Nicolas Jackson.
The incident took place in the 18th minute of a tightly contested match where Aston Villa edged out their opponents 1-0, thanks to Johan Manzambi's goal in the 36th minute. Referee Jarred Gillet issued Botman a yellow card — his second of the season — describing the foul as "reckless, despite the player touching the ball."
Referee assessments
Speaking on the programme Match Officials Mic'd Up, Webb acknowledged that physicality is an integral part of English football but emphasised that referees have a duty to ensure player safety.
The referee views this as a reckless foul — definitely bordering on dangerous, since Botman goes in to tackle and connects with the ball. The VAR reviews this decision and seeks to determine if it was clearly wrong, Webb explained.
According to Webb, VAR official Stuart Attwell opted not to overturn the on-field decision as he did not see any direct contact with the ankle or shin, nor a "scissor" movement with the legs. He stressed that had the on-field referee initially shown a red card, that decision would have stood upon VAR review, labelling the incident a solid example of the current refereeing approach this season, which aims for less intervention in subjective situations.
VAR statistics for the current season
The discussion also referenced up-to-date statistics regarding the implementation of VAR. After seven rounds of Premier League matches, referees have called on VAR 21 times (nine of which were subjective), in sharp contrast to just three interventions at the same stage last season.
Moreover, the number of genuine errors has significantly decreased: an independent expert panel for key matches recognised only one VAR intervention as incorrect (Man City’s offside winning goal against Man United) and one overlooked incident involving an unawarded penalty for Arsenal in their match against Aston Villa. In contrast, four errors due to missed interventions were noted at the same point last year.
