Premier League seeks VAR explanation as West Ham and Newcastle fume over disallowed goals

Premier League officials are seeking an explanation from refereeing body PGMOL after controversial VAR decisions to disallow goals by West Ham and Newcastle United.

The operating of the video assistant referee system faced stiff criticism on Saturday, with West Ham boss David Moyes saying the ruling that denied Maxwel Cornet a 90th-minute equaliser at Chelsea was “scandalous” and “absolutely rotten”.

West Ham lost 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, while Newcastle were held 0-0 by Crystal Palace at St James’ Park but were convinced an own goal from Tyrick Mitchell should have been allowed to stand.

That’s up there with one of the worst VAR decisions made since it’s come into the game. Shambles 

— Declan Rice (@_DeclanRice) September 3, 2022

Andy Madley was the referee in West Ham’s game, while Michael Salisbury was the man in the middle at Newcastle, and both were told by the VAR official to review their decisions to award the goals, leading to both being disallowed.

West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen was ruled to have impeded Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, while Newcastle’s Joe Willock was adjudged to have fouled Palace keeper Vicente Guaita after the VAR intervention, although Willock himself appeared to have been pushed by Mitchell.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said he considered it a “perfectly good goal”, and former Magpies striker Alan Shearer told the BBC that to overturn the initial decision was “shocking, abysmal, disgraceful”.

It is understood the Premier League will ask PGMOL – Professional Game Match Officials Limited – to detail its rationale for directing the on-field referee to overturn those goals.

The issue is being treated as a priority matter by the Premier League, although it is not known at this stage whether details of what emerges from its discussions with PGMOL will be made public.

PGMOL is independent of the Premier League and was set up in 2001 when referees became professional, allowing it to become a full-time occupation.

The VAR system was introduced to the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, with the aim of cutting down on mistakes and controversial decisions.