PL VAR Weekend: Arsenal, Coventry Penalties Likely Errors

BBC Sport expects the KMI Panel to log two to four VAR errors from the weekend, led by Arsenal’s penalty against Hull and Coventry’s at Everton.

The Premier League’s VAR record was good until this weekend. BBC Sport’s football issues correspondent Dale Johnson reports that the Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel had logged just two VAR errors after eight rounds of matches, against six at the same stage last season. Then came a round in which almost every top-flight game threw up a contentious call, and BBC Sport’s incident-by-incident review estimates that the panel will log between two and four more, which it calls “not a good weekend”.

The two calls most likely to be ruled errors

Arsenal 1-0 Hull. Kai Havertz was pulled down inside the area by Noble Mendy. VAR Michael Oliver sent referee Farai Hallam to the pitchside monitor, but the penalty wasn’t given because Havertz had been in an offside position. BBC Sport’s view is that the foul came before any offside offence, so the penalty should have been awarded. Its panel prediction is a likely error, even though “it feels wrong to reward a player in an offside position with a penalty”, because the law says otherwise. The match is covered in talking points from Arsenal v Hull.

Everton 3-1 Coventry. Caleb Yirenkyi appeared to have his hair pulled by James Tarkowski inside the area and no penalty was given. The hair-pulling interpretation was relaxed for this season, so it wouldn’t be a red card, but BBC Sport still expects the panel to call it an incorrect decision and a penalty.

The calls that could go either way

Leeds 1-0 Spurs. Jayden Bogle fouled Mathys Tel. Referee John Brooks gave the free-kick and no card, and VAR Tony Harrington did not send him to the monitor for a possible red. BBC Sport calls it a difficult call because Bogle caused the foul with his supporting foot rather than his challenging one, but it was a painful challenge and some believe it was a red. The verdict depends on which former players sit on that week’s panel.

Everton’s Thierno Barry goal. The 61st-minute goal survived a VAR check for handball because there was no conclusive evidence. BBC Sport says there does appear to be a deviation and the goal probably should have been ruled out. The VAR doesn’t have the super-zoom, which takes a few minutes to calibrate and isn’t available instantly, so BBC Sport thinks the panel could split.

The decisions BBC Sport expects to stand

• Man Utd 4-4 Aston Villa: the 16th-minute penalty for Boubacar Kamara’s foul on Matheus Cunha, and Patrick Dorgu’s 96th-minute equaliser, which stood despite a possible foul by Senne Lammens on Zion Suzuki. With the higher bar for an intervention and minimal contact, BBC Sport thinks not disallowing it wasn’t a VAR error. The game has talking points on Dorgu, Lammens and Carrick.
• Brighton 2-0 Brentford: Igor Thiago’s red card after a VAR review for catching Chema Andres’ head with his forearm. He faces a three-game suspension. The law treats a strike to the head as a red card unless the force is negligible.
• Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool: the stoppage-time penalty for Milos Kerkez’s foul on Dario Osorio. BBC Sport calls it closer to a 50-50 clash than the Saliba on Joao Pedro incident from 2024-25, which was voted a correct penalty, so it may be an on-field error that does not reach the VAR threshold.
• Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea: no penalty when Cole Palmer went down under challenges from Luke O’Nien and Jules Ahoka. A foul is judged on first contact, and BBC Sport finds no conclusive evidence of one inside the area.

What it means

Two to four errors from one round would match or exceed the two logged after eight rounds. The panel hasn’t published its verdicts yet.

VAR weekend: frequently asked questions

What is the KMI Panel?

The Key Match Incidents Panel looks at every contentious decision and votes on whether it was right or wrong. The panel’s count is the one BBC Sport cites.

How many VAR errors had the panel logged after eight rounds?

Two after eight rounds of matches, compared with six at the same stage last season, according to BBC Sport.

Which decisions are most likely to be ruled errors?

BBC Sport rates the missed penalties for Arsenal against Hull and for Coventry at Everton as likely VAR errors, with the Bogle and Barry incidents possible.

Featured photo: Ardfern, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).