VAR error! Why Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty against Hull despite Kai Havertz offside

Résumé détaillé

Gunners were denied a penalty by VAR, but the rules suggest a mistake was made

Arsenal were denied a penalty in their Premier League encounter against Hull City on Saturday after a “very controversial VAR intervention”.

The Gunners, who were on top for much of the first half at the Emirates Stadium, thought they have have a chance to score from 12 yards when Kai Havertz went down in the penalty box under challenge from visiting defender Nobel Mendy.

Play continued but the incident was assessed by VAR for a number of minutes, before referee Farai Hallam was advised by the video assistant referee to pause the game and consult the pitchside monitor to take a closer look at the incident.

The VAR told Hallam that Havertz was fouled by Mendy, who clearly had a hold of the striker’s jersey, but was offside at the time so the foul could not be awarded.

Upon announcing the decision to the Emirates Stadium capacity, the referee spoke of the foul by the Hull centre-back first, which caused the home faithful to cheer in delight at the penalty they thought they were being awarded.

However, their glee turned to disappointment in the blink of an eye when Hallam explained that Hull were in fact being awarded a free kick as a result of Havertz being offside.

A statement from the Premier League read: “VAR recommended an on-field review for a potential penalty to Arsenal for a challenge by Mendy on Havertz - but determined that Havertz was in an offside position in the build-up.”

It sparked outrage amongst the Arsenal players and on the home bench, with Mikel Arteta having stern words with the fourth official on the touchline as the minutes ticked down towards the interval, where both sides went in goalless after a tense opening 45 minutes.

And it soon emerged that the penalty should have been awarded in a clear error by VAR.

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