WHY JAMIE CARRAGHER SAYS FULHAM’S "SOFT" PENALTY EXPOSED A MASSIVE VAR CONSPIRACY
Jamie Carragher blasts VAR for awarding Fulham a "soft" penalty while ignoring William Saliba’s foul on Thierno Barry.
Jamie Carragher couldn't believe Fulham got a penalty against Nottingham Forest while Everton didn't get one against Arsenal. He thinks Everton's boss, David Moyes, probably feels the same way.
Fulham won their game 1-0 thanks to a penalty scored by Raul Jiminez after Douglas Luiz of Forest was called for a foul on Fulham's Kevin. Carragher, watching the game, said the foul on Kevin wasn't as bad as when Arsenal's William Saliba appeared to clip Everton's Thierno Barry in the box on Saturday.
Even though it looked like Saliba kicked Barry, VAR didn't award a penalty. Arsenal ended up winning 1-0 with a penalty from Viktor Gyokeres.
Carragher, who used to play for David Moyes, said the Fulham penalty seemed a bit soft. Luiz was on the ground trying to clear the ball, and he just happened to make contact with Kevin. It's hard to say the ref was wrong, but it felt like a weak call. Since Luiz didn't get the ball, he can't really argue. But it reminded me of what happened with Arsenal and Everton.
If I were David Moyes, I'd be wondering how we didn't get a penalty. Luiz was on the ground, trying to flick the ball away, so he couldn't have put much force into it. Saliba, on the other hand, was trying to boot the ball as far as possible from his own goal.
Saliba put way more power behind his challenge, which you'd expect from a defender. That's what made it different from the Luiz situation.
Neither player got the ball, but the attackers got there first. So, I don't get how the calls can be so different. The Saliba challenge looked much more like a penalty to me than the one Fulham got.
When Moyes was asked about the incident after the match, he said, "I think we've seen penalties given when someone gets kicked in the foot or back." It was on his Achilles, actually.
Nothing much was happening at the time. Saliba went in, Thierno got his foot in first and kicked the ball away, and then Saliba ended up kicking through Barry.
You'd all probably agree that we could have been given a penalty. VAR must not have thought it was enough to send the ref to the screen.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.