No VAR for the Chelsea non pen

[Spijed]

Very strange that the ref didn't even consult it.

[burnmark]

He did according to the commentary. Wasn’t classed as a clear and obvious mistake supposedly.

[welsbyswife]

Even if he had done it doesn't stop the debate. Jermaine Jenas is trotting out the "It's a penalty, there's contact" b*ll*cks as usual but I think he deliberately made contact and was already falling over at that point anyway so no penalty. The VAR thing won't alter the debate about what is or isn't a pen.

[JohnMac]

He had both feet off the ground before any contact was made a d what contact there was didn't warrant a penalty.

Jenas is a muppet!

[evensteadiereddie]

No need, the ref had a great view of Willian hurdling the defender's leg and then suddenly deciding to fall.
I think one important consequence of this VAR malarkey is that it will actually give the refs more confidence to follow their instincts and not, as is often suspected, be a little wary of what some big-name manager might have to say after a game and duck out of making what might appear to be a controversial decision.
The sooner it comes in for all PL matches, the better.

[JohnMac]

VAR should be used as evidence to bin off the likes of Jenas trotting out the same old bile.

It's our licence fee being wasted on this one dimensional prune.

[welsbyswife]

Unfortunately I think you will find the opposite Eddie lad. Those reviewing will be in the Jenas camp more often than not. Just listen to shearer and dublin now saying it's a shambles. Ex players talk nonsense.

[Juan Tanamera]

Shearer saying it's a shambles.
Why, because it didn't agree with how he saw It?

[Joe Buck]

One of the clowns said something like “The defender left his leg there for Willian to make contact “ they’re idiots

[Flat Stanley]

Clear penalty for me agree with pundits. Even if you don't think a penalty it's ridiculous it wasn't even reviewed fully by VAR

[KRBFC]

I thought it was a nailed on penalty, shocking decision.

[aggi]

I didn't think it was a penalty at all, already diving before the contact was made. The difficulty in getting a consensus shows part of the problem.

I thought everything was reviewed, the ref doesn't have to review it themselves, the video official will just be in their ear anyway.

[Spijed]

I thought everything was reviewed, the ref doesn't have to review it themselves, the video official will just be in their ear anyway.

Didn't the ref signal for it to be used last night for the offside?

[tim_noone]

Stopped watching a lot of the English games now on TV it's a pantomime about the pundits views on there own performance in front of the camera.

[welsbyswife]

Fair play to this ref! Top lad.

[Lowbankclaret]

Clear penalty for me agree with pundits. Even if you don't think a penalty it's ridiculous it wasn't even reviewed fully by VAR

So if your arm is in the air an you walk into it, your claiming it’s assault.

The worlds gone mad and you sir are part of the problem

[martin_p]

Ref is having an excellent game. Maybe players who have ‘every right to go down’ may think twice about doing so with this ref in charge.

[KRBFC]

So if your arm is in the air an you walk into it, your claiming it’s assault.

The worlds gone mad and you sir are part of the problem

The lad dived into a tackle, got nowhere near the ball and hit Willian's leg, how it's not a penalty I have no idea, the foul is obvious.

[welsbyswife]

Jenas's latest "he is well within his rights to go down". What on earth does that mean? It means he has "gone down", or deliberately fallen over when the contact itself wasn't enough to make him fall over of itself. That used to be called cheating but now he is "within his rights" apparently. Absolute tosh.

[Joe Buck]

Just shows that this system is going to cause as many debates as before. The one on Willian was never a pen. He made contact with the defender, think it has to be the other way round for a pen

[Spijed]

Ref is having an excellent game. Maybe players who have ‘every right to go down’ may think twice about doing so with this ref in charge.

But Morata being touched on his shoulder was far more of a penalty than the one against us for Arsenal.

[Dazzler]

Fair play to this ref! Top lad.

They might be onto the cheats at long last.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Interesting that the officials thought neither the Willian nor the Morata one were worthy of a VAR overrule, but the pundits did. I assume that the officials were right.

Given that they seemed identical to the Alli and Ramsey penalties against us, which the pundits also said were pens, it does make me wonder if they were indeed pens at all. I suspect the VAR Ref would say neither were, as neither had enough contact to bring the player down, just like today.

[CombatClaret]

The Morata incident is a clear example of 'going down' 'there was contact', the point of contact with the opponent is not the point from which the player's body is effected.
The shoulder is not pulled, Morata feels hands on his shoulders and brings his own legs out from under him.

[burnmark]

Excellent decision. Hopefully a sign of things to come but I doubt it.

[Vegas Claret]

I think the ref has been refreshingly superb, not fallen for any of the cheating Chelsea bullshit

[martin_p]

But Morata being touched on his shoulder was far more of a penalty than the one against us for Arsenal.

Which shouldn’t have been a penalty either.

[dpinsussex]

For me 1st one a dive good decision. 2nd one penalty. Var required

[FactualFrank]

The Morata incident is a clear example of 'going down' 'there was contact', the point of contact with the opponent is not the point from which the player's body is effected.
The shoulder is not pulled, Morata feels hands on his shoulders and brings his own legs out from under him.

Yep. His body drops unnaturally because he dropped like a hotpot.

[welsbyswife]

They might be onto the cheats at long last.

I'm dead against VAR but if it could be used to stamp out the diving and to get away from the idea that something is a penalty because "there is contact" I might change my mind. Need more refs like him.

[Carport]

No way a penalty. Willian is diving looking to contact the defender’s leg. Bit like the Delle Ali one at the Turf.

[KRBFC]

The Morata one was never a penalty, the Willian one is a stone waller, apparently you have to break a players leg to concede a penalty though.

[Flat Stanley]

Willian one nothing like Ali. He was running at full pace and had no need to go down. To me he was trying to get passed the defender. Defender nowhere near the ball and caught him. If we didn't get that I would be seething

[martin_p]

No way a penalty. Willian is diving looking to contact the defender’s leg. Bit like the Delle Ali one at the Turf.

Exactly. The irony is that if he hadn’t decided to throw himself to the floor he’d have tripped over the defenders leg and got a penalty anyway.

[Juan Tanamera]

The Morata one was never a penalty, the Willian one is a stone waller, apparently you have to break a players leg to concede a penalty though.

Absolute tosh!
Willian clearly dropped his foot to ensure contact, the Norwich player was nowhere near touching him until he did that.
And your leg breaking comment just about sums you up.

[Dejavu]

The referee was spot on with both decisions. No contact before Willian's blatant dive. Morata also was a blatant dive. Well done referee and long may it continue.
I don't know what agenda Shearer and the rest have but it is beginning to really make me wanna turn my back on football. Apart from Burnley obviously.

[Quickenthetempo]

Brilliant ref display and standing up to the abuse from Morata with the 2nd yellow card deserves applause.

Wish more refs performed like this.

[dsr]

The thing about the Willan one is that the defender's leg was there first. It's all very well to say "there was contact" but there is nothing in the rules to say that if two players touch, it's the defender's fault. It was pretty clear that although Willan touched the defender with only one foot, both of his feet failed to land properly. Was that because the touch on the Norwich player's leg was so very violent that he couldn't possibly stay on his feet? Or was it because he didn't want to stay on his feet, so he dived?

There is a school of thought, which Jenas and Shearer subscribe to, that if a forward can find a defender to fall over, he deserves the penalty. It spoils the game.

[KRBFC]

Absolute tosh!
Willian clearly dropped his foot to ensure contact, the Norwich player was nowhere near touching him until he did that.
And your leg breaking comment just about sums you up.

So it wasn't a penalty because Willian was off balance before he got fouled? Willian was falling over his own feet before he got caught, still a foul.

So if a player jumps out the way of a leg breaker tackle, it's not a foul.... interesting because there were no complaints on here when Defour jumped out of the way of Zeegelaars challenge.

[Wexford_Claret]

Some of you really need to read up on your Human Rights:

‘Any human being has the right to theatrically hurtle themselves to the ground, in the event of being within half a foot of another human being.’

Basic lads.

[TVC15]

VAR seems a bit of a mess at the moment. The refs don't seem clear when to use it.
I did not like to see that cheating t-wat Morata making the TV screen sign to the ref after his first dive only minutes after he came on the pitch. Players should be told not to call for it from the referee or they will be booked - it's just like when they wave a card to the referee.
I agree the referee was excellent tonight but there seems to me more pressures and scrutiny on the referees at the moment than I can remember for a long time.
The quotes of what Wenger recently said to a referee after a game (Dean ?) were an absolute disgrace. They deserved an extremely long ban and I'd go as far as deducting points from Arsenal. You cannot accuse a referee like Wenger did.

[Dazzler]

The Willian 'shout' I thought was a penalty straight away.I was surprised the ref didn't give it.
After all the close up replays I still see it as a pen.

Even with VAR,what might seem like a valid penalty claim may still be seen as dives by the 'adjudicators'.but with that,I do think we will eventually see a significant reduction of players diving.

[martin_p]

So it wasn't a penalty because Willian was off balance before he got fouled? Willian was falling over his own feet before he got caught, still a foul.

So you admit the defender didn’t bring him down then. So not a foul then.

[KRBFC]

So you admit the defender didn’t bring him down then. So not a foul then.

He was off balance before the defender jumped in, the defender then brought him down.

[martin_p]

He was off balance before the defender jumped in, the defender then brought him down.

You said Willian fell over his own feet. Did Willian trip himself or did the defender trip him, make your mind up! You can’t trip a man already falling over.

[KRBFC]

You said Willian fell over his own feet. Did Willian trip himself or did the defender trip him, make your mind up! You can’t trip a man already falling over.

Wrong, I said Willian was FALLING over his own feet, that doesn't mean he fell over his own feet because it's possible without the contact from the defender, Willian could've regained balance and stayed upright. When you are falling, it's possible to regain your balance, when you've fell there's no going back.

You absolutely can trip a man who's off balance and give him no chance of recovering. It's a clear foul IMO I don't understand how people think it's not because ''Willian was already off balance''

[martin_p]

Willian could've regained balance and stayed upright.

Yeah, there’s no doubt that Willian was trying to stay on his feet. That’s what modern footballers do.

I suspect that having made contact with his own foot Willian was thinking he had every right to go down.

[KRBFC]

Yeah, there’s no doubt that Willian was trying to stay on his feet. That’s what modern footballers do.

I suspect that having made contact with his own foot Willian was thinking he had every right to go down.

I don't know if Willian was going to go down or looking for a penalty but it shouldn't change the outcome. He was fouled and shouldn't not receive a penalty because he was off balance BEFORE getting fouled. I don't know if you've actually watched the decision but where did Willian trip himself? the defender slid in, made contact and tripped him up.

[burnleytom]

Fair play to this ref! Top lad.

Same star struck ref who let City take their free kick quickly without consulting him.

However, I very much appreciated what he did tonight. Well done.

[martin_p]

I don't know if Willian was going to go down or looking for a penalty but it shouldn't change the outcome. He was fouled and shouldn't not receive a penalty because he was off balance BEFORE getting fouled. I don't know if you've actually watched the decision but where did Willian trip himself? the defender slid in, made contact and tripped him up.

Well if he had the referee would have given a penalty wouldn’t he. Willian saw the leg and fell into it, simple as. As I’ve said above, the irony is if he hadn’t thrown himself into the leg he’d have been tripped by it anyway. But he was trying to ‘make sure’ by throwing himself at the leg anyway.