VAR confusion during Chelsea vs Brighton explained as Seagulls denied late penalty

The VAR confusion surrounding Brighton and Hove Albion’s late penalty appeal against Chelsea has been explained.

On Sunday afternoon, Chelsea and Brighton played out a thrilling encounter at Stamford Bridge.

Courtesy of a brace from Enzo Fernandez and a goal from Levi Colwill, Chelsea recorded a much-needed 3-2 win.

Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro were the scorers for the Seagulls.

Towards the end of the match, referee Craig Pawson awarded Brighton a penalty for an alleged handball by Colwill.

However, after a VAR check, it was clear that the ball hit Colwill in the face and as a result, the penalty decision was overturned.

To the confusion of many, including the Brighton players, the match restarted with a drop ball.

Brighton players were arguing that the ball hit Colwill before going behind and therefore it should have been a corner.

However, it was later explained that the referee in fact made the correct decision to restart the match with a drop ball.

The current rules state that if the match is to be restarted with a reversed VAR decision, a drop ball is used to resume the match.

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Journalist Ben Jacobs wrote on social media: “Clarification on Brighton's injury-time appeal for penalty. Ball clearly hit Levi Colwill in the face but Craig Pawson gave the penalty.

“He was then sent to the monitor to review and rightly correct the decision. Because the call was reversed it's a drop ball not a Brighton corner, which is the correct application of the rules.”

Speaking about the decision, Blues boss Pochettino said: “Why did they give the penalty and then check VAR [for the Colwill handball]? It is difficult to understand why. It is not to complain, to criticise. Why was the penalty of Mudryk waiting for VAR and he gave the handball? It is so weird the way we use VAR sometimes.

“But, we need to be happy after a win.”