Premier League clubs are baffled by the conflicting refereeing reports that arrive in their inboxes every week – because they are told VAR was right not to intervene even when the referee was wrong.
An assessment known as the Key Match Incident Report is emailed to all 20 teams after each round of matches.
Created by the Premier League, co-owners of PGMOL, it lists the major moments that occurred in each match as well as the verdict of a five-person KMI panel who assess whether the on-field referee’s decision was correct or incorrect.
They also determine whether the VAR was right or wrong to follow through on an intervention or not.
Mail Sport has leaked several KMI reports from this season which governed incidents ranging from penalties to red cards to disallowed goals in Premier League matches.
Premier League clubs are baffled every week by conflicting refereeing reports.
Reports tell clubs that VAR is sometimes right not to intervene – even if the on-field decision is wrong.
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Yet some clubs are confused by some of the verdicts they receive, feeling that conflicting messages leave them guessing about what constitutes a “clear and obvious” error.
One example was Arsenal’s late 2-1 home win over Brentford earlier this month.
In the 62nd minute, Leandro Trossard claimed to have been dragged down by Mads Roerslev as he tried to get on the end of a cross from Martin Odegaard.
Referee Rob Jones did not award a penalty, which was deemed “incorrect” by the panel.
However, these same panelists decided it was “correct” that VAR Paul Tierney did not intervene as it was “not a clear and obvious error”.
Another example was Liverpool’s 4-1 win at Brentford last month. Andy Robertson’s barge behind Ivan Toney’s back in the 72nd minute saw referee Michael Oliver fail to award a penalty.
This was deemed “incorrect” by the panel, but they also concluded that it was “correct” that VAR David Coote did not intervene, again explaining that this error was not “clear and obvious” according to the threshold.
There are other examples of referees being told they were wrong in real time and VARs being told they were right not to intervene, such as when Brighton missed a penalty in their 5-0 win at Sheffield United after Kaoru Mitoma is pushed aside by James. McAtee in the box.
There is a high threshold that VARs must meet to warrant intervention, as the Premier League and PGMOL are wary that they do not want matches redirected from Stockley Park.
The KMI panel concluded that Michael Oliver was “wrong” not to award a penalty when Andy Robertson fouled Ivan Toney, but that VAR was “right” not to intervene.
Rob Jones was ‘wrong’ not to give Arsenal a penalty against Brentford, but VAR was deemed ‘correct’ not to intervene
The conflict is causing confusion at clubs, however, with a source telling Mail Sport: “It’s confusing for us. We are told: “Yes, the referee was wrong, he should have awarded you that penalty”, but then: “No, the VAR was right not to tell the referee that he had made a mistake “.
“Apparently it’s because of a ‘high bar’ for an intervention. But surely, if the referee got it wrong, then the VAR should correct it. Period. The Premier League is now pure chaos, totally lacking in consistency. We never know when we will or will not get a decision for us or against us.
The largely secretive panel of five is made up of a representative from the Premier League, a representative from PGMOL and three from a group of former players or managers.
Sometimes they are unanimous in their results. Other times they get a four-to-one majority, or a three-to-two split. It was previously revealed that Robert Green, Karen Carney, Jonathan Walters, Steven Reid and Terry Burton were among the former players and managers tasked with privately assessing refereeing performance for these KMI reports.
The same source said their club was concerned about the lack of experience among current Premier League referees. The PGMOL lost several of its longest-serving officials when Mike Dean, Martin Atkinson, Jon Moss and Kevin Friend retired.
“We don’t mind new referees being brought in and we know they will make mistakes, just like our younger players would when thrown in at the deep end,” the source said. “But VARs should help them, not stand idly by at Stockley Park and allow mistakes to happen because they fear there is not enough evidence for them to intervene.”
“Either the decision is good or it is bad. Most football fans know when it’s one or the other. Howard Webb needs to improve this situation because, from our perspective, the situation is as bad as it has been.
Fans in the stadium were frustrated by the prolonged waits and lack of clarity.
Jeremy Doku’s kick on Alexis Mac Allister deemed a ‘genuine attempt to play the ball’
Former England stars Robert Green (left) and Karen Carney (right) have previously been on the panel assessing the referees’ performances.
Meanwhile, the KMI report which covered Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City at Anfield indicated that every decision was made correctly. That included the stoppage-time penalty Jurgen Klopp’s side were denied when Jeremy Doku planted his foot into Alexis Mac Allister’s chest.
This was widely criticized as a mistake by commentators. However, the panel decided, by a split vote of three to two, that referee Michael Oliver was “right” not to award a spot kick in real time, citing “a genuine attempt to play the ball” in his reasons.
They also concluded it was “correct” that VAR Stuart Attwell did not intervene, with only one of the five panelists saying Oliver should have been sent to his monitor for a second review of the challenge by Doku.