Video assistant referees cause controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made and are they the right ones?
We examine and explain the entire process from a VAR protocol and game rules perspective by reviewing key events.
AFC Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks looked set to be shown a red card against Chelsea on Tuesday when referee Rob Jones was sent to the pitchside monitor to review Mark Cucurella's possible presence violent behavior.
Was the referee right to reject VAR advice? How common is this situation in the Premier League?
what happened: In the 52nd minute, the game was tied at 1-1 by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. As he prepared to take a shot, there was an off-ball collision between David Brooks and Mark Cucurella. VAR Graham Scott told referee Rob Jones that a serious missed call had occurred due to violent behavior by a Bournemouth player but the incident was not seen by officials.
VAR verdict: Red card rejected, yellow card shown.
VAR review: A red card review was dismissed, a first for the Premier League. This is also the first time a yellow card has been issued when VAR believes a player should have been sent off.
VAR cannot recommend a yellow card...only a red card. But once in front of the monitor, the referee has full control over the final outcome without having to follow VAR. In fact, he could have decided to book Cucurella if he had wanted to.
VAR makes mistakes because no one is infallible. That's why monitors exist, as a fail-safe against erroneous comments. But it was the first time this season and the 12th time in 5.5 seasons in England's top flight that VAR has been denied.
For the system to be fully functional, there should not be any erroneous VAR overturns as these should be rejected by the referee on screen.
However, as we know, VAR is far from perfect and referees will often look at the monitor hoping to be proven wrong.
Perhaps because the referee did not see Brooks extending his arm to stop Cucurella, VAR believed that a monitoring review should be carried out.
This VAR system makes referees think they must have made a mistake when walking towards the monitor, which is why rejections are so rare. Perhaps because Jones was seeing it for the first time, it allowed him to make his own decisions without unconscious influence.
Jones told Brooks he would give Brooks a warning for the reckless challenge and put his arm over Cucurella's shoulder. While you can question Brooks' actions, you can't say there was clear evidence of violence - whether it was touching the head or pulling Cucurella's hair.
If an angle confirmed Cucurella's hair was pulled, then Brooks would certainly have seen red - just as Southampton's Jack Stephens did to the same player last month. But you can't be sure of that yet.
This is an odd comment, mostly because of the poor quality of the replays available. Unless you have cameras tracking every player, there's always the possibility of an incident happening outside of normal filming.
There have been similar situations over the years where review was not recommended because the replays were not good enough. For example, in December 2023, Aston Villa's Diego Carlos got into an argument with Eddie Nketiah and claimed the Arsenal player was elbowed, but you couldn't really tell from the distance camera what happened. no comments.
It also proves that opposing managers will never agree on controversial matters.
"They have to explain. If they show a yellow card, it means something happened," Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said after the game.
"I've said it many times, to me, if there's no intention to take the ball, it's a red ball. So, how can they judge that it's not dangerous? You can't judge that it's not dangerous. The intention is just to go." In my opinion, against Mark Cucurella, this is red. "
Bournemouth coach Andoni Illara disagreed: "I don't understand why VAR asked him to check that. I thought it was a clear yellow card. I didn't see any violence."
judgment: Scott served as the fourth official in the aforementioned Carlos incident last season, but has exclusively served as VAR this season, and he has a near-perfect record. There was not a single mistake in his name among the 17 appointments. He had to look at 32 KMIs and got a vote of 159 to 1 - and there was only one key race event where the panelists thought he had made a mistake.
But this time, on the available evidence, it is simply not possible to say with certainty that Brooks' behavior warranted a red card for violence, and the referee was right to refuse a review.
Coincidentally, in November 2022, Scott was the first referee to refuse a review. Michael Oliver made three of the 12 monitor rejections, the only referee to do so multiple times.
However, the system is not foolproof. The Premier League Critical Match Incident Panel ruled that the referee ignored VAR advice and allowed a goal against Wolves in 2022-23 and a penalty against Aston Villa against Crystal Palace last season. is wrong.
Bonus place
Illaura was furious at Chelsea's late equalizer, which he believed should have been disallowed because Cucurella was too close to Antoine Semenho inside the Bournemouth wall.
"I think their goal should have been disallowed," Illaura said. "When they took the free kick and you stop the image, Cucurella was touching our wall. It should have been one yard, no, we can't argue whether it was half a yard or three-quarters and he touched Semenho like this .
"I understand the on-field referee, 94 minutes, the pressure at Stamford Bridge. But one of the guys in the VAR just had to check this free-kick and stop the image when he shot it. They were in a legal position, no, they weren't for a second, that's it ”
However, restart violations are outside VAR's remit and a goal cannot be disallowed because a player was too close to the wall when reviewed. It must be provided by an on-site official.
November 1 January 2020: Tottenham Hotspur vs Brighton, England
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referee: Graham Scott
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December 13, 2020: Fulham vs Liverpool
Penalty review dismissed after Fabinho challenged Ivan Cavaleiro in the 16th minute
referee: Other Marines.
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December 26, 2020: Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
Penalty review dismissed after Matty Cash challenges Patrick van Aanholt, 24th minute
referee: Michael Oliver
Our: Paul Tierney
February 20, 2021: Liverpool vs Everton
In the 81st minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold knocked down Dominic Calvert-Lewin and a penalty review was dismissed.
referee: Chris Kavanagh
Our: other marines
February 28, 2021: Chelsea v Manchester United
Penalty review for Callum Hudson-Odoi's 15th minute handball dismissed
referee: Stuart Atwell
Our: Chris Kavanagh
3 September 2022: Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth
Penalty overturn review dismissed, Lloyd Kelly handball disallowed, 42 mins
referee: Michael Oliver
Our: Graham Scott
1 October 2022: Bournemouth vs Brentford
Kristoffer Ajer's challenge on Jordan Zemura dismissed, 22nd minute
referee: Tom Bramall
Our: John Brooks
December 26, 2022: Crystal Palace vs Fulham
Tim Ream's goal in the 71st minute came after Aleksandar Mitrovic was denied for handball
referee: Andy Madeley
Our: Mike Dean
March 18, 2023: Wolves v Leeds United
In the 90th+7th minute, Rodrigo's goal was denied due to a foul by Adama Traore in the attack.
referee: Michael Salisbury
Our: David Coote
16 September 2023: Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
Penalty overturn review rejected, Chris Richards fouls Ollie Watkins in the stand, 90+3 mins
referee: Darren England
Our: Rob Jones
May 19, 2024: Arsenal vs Everton
Kai Havertz's goal stood after Gabriel Jesus disallowed a handball penalty in the 89th minute
referee: Michael Oliver
Our: Rob Jones