Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports
Topics: Football, PGMOL, Arsenal, VAR, Newcastle United, Anthony Gordon
Chris Byfield
Topics: Football, PGMOL, Arsenal, VAR, Newcastle United, Anthony Gordon
The PGMOL have released the VAR audio of Anthony Gordon's controversial goal in Newcastle's 1-0 win over Arsenal.
Sky Sports' Match Officials Mic'd Up, which is hosted by Howard Webb and Michael Owen, was introduced in May to display greater transparency around refereeing incidents.
This week the audio on Gordon's goal against Arsenal was disclosed following immense backlash from Gunners boss Mikel Arteta. Gordon's strike went through three separate VAR checks before being passed.
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Arteta subsequently described the goal as "an absolute disgrace" while the club doubled down on their manager's comments in a statement the following day.
The audio has since been released, and you can hear it below.
On the ball potentially going out of play, VAR said they had "no conclusive evidence" the ball had had exited the pitch from the angle offered.
Moreover, on the challenge on Gabriel at the back post, VAR claimed: "I don't see a specific foul on Gabriel. I see two hands on his back but I don't see anything of a push that warrants him flying forward like that."
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Regarding a potential offside on Gordon, the VAR admitted that given it was unclear where the ball was at the point of contact on Joelinton, there was "no conclusive evidence" of the goalscorer being ahead of the ball based on the angles on offer.
In turn, VAR believed they had no choice but to award the goal.
Afterwards, PGMOL head Howard Webb said: "This was a big moment - an unusual situation with three aspects for the VAR to check whether or not the on-field decision of goal should be overturned.
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"We see the ball getting very close to the goal line - don’t forget we have an assistant referee who is right in line - the ball hasn't got a lot of pace as it goes to the goal line, so he's looking right down the line better than any of our cameras. And we know the ball is curved, so it can be over-hanging the line and we need evidence it's out, and we don’t have that here.
"The ball then comes over and Joelinton challenges Gabriel, and it could be a foul, might be a foul. The VAR decides that the evidence from the footage isn't clear enough to intervene with a recommendation for a review for a clear error.
"I think the talks we've seen after, the opinion that is split across a lot of analysis, would suggest that was a correct non-intervention because of the subjectivity. And then one of those unusual situations where the ball goes between two players, and trying to identify exactly when the ball leaves Joelinton, is really difficult to establish because of the players being so close together.
"So again, no conclusive evidence that Gordon was offside when the ball was last touched. The VAR went through that diligently and identified no clear evidence to intervene to overturn the goal. The process was actually correct."