Premier League forced to release three VAR statements in Liverpool vs Chelsea referee chaos
The return of the Premier League certainly meant a return of the drama this weekend. As domestic football kicked off once more following two weeks of international action, it didn't disappoint.
There were goals, shocks, red cards, blunders, VAR controversy, overturned decisions, referees at the centre of it all, and general top-flight excitement across the board. Most of it played out in Liverpool's favour.
Not only did they beat Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday, bouncing back from a sharp Nicolas Jackson equaliser after half-time, but title rivals Arsenal lost to Bournemouth, dropping points for the third time this season. Ahead of next weekend's crunch meeting at the Emirates Stadium, it leaves Arne Slot's team with the chance to go seven clear of the Gunners already.
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Things were almost even better. Manchester City were seconds away from drawing to bottom-placed Wolves at Molineux. John Stones' late winner leaves the champions hot on the heels of Liverpool.
That wouldn't have been the case if Curtis Jones hadn't inspired a fantastic win in the toughest test of the league so far. He won two penalties - only one was taken - as well as scoring the decisive goal. That was just a small part of his all-round performance, though.
Much like boiling Sunday's blockbuster down to three goals misses most of the talking points, Jones' game was much more than just his impact in the box. He was at the centre of most of the match drama regardless, and here, the Liverpool ECHO breaks down the Premier League explanation for a controversy-filled afternoon.
Communicated via the new Match Centre account on X (formerly Twitter), VAR intervention is now more readily accessible. On Sunday at Anfield it was certainly needed.
After John Brooks awarded only a yellow card to Tosin Adarabioyo for his foul on Diogo Jota in the first half there was a VAR check but, despite the similarity to William Saliba's dismissal a day earlier for Arsenal, no on-screen review was recommended. Stockley Park officials did still analyse the incident but didn't deem it necessary of possible further punishment.
Brooks was also judged to have got his next call right as well, issuing a penalty for Liverpool following Levi Colwill's wrong-side tackle in the box on Jones. "The referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Colwill on Jones," Match Centre confirmed. "The VAR checked and confirmed the referee’s call, deeming that contact was sufficient for a penalty."
Mohamed Salah stepped up to score. 20 minutes later and the same looked set to happen. Jones, again, was brought down, with Rob Sanchez colliding with the Liverpool midfielder.
The ball squirmed under Chelsea's goalkeeper. More complaints follow from Enzo Maresca's players, and Liverpool had their chance to score removed. "The referee awarded a penalty to Liverpool for a foul by Sanchez on Jones," Match Centre explains.
"The VAR deemed that Sanchez won the ball and no foul was committed and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball."
VAR giveth, VAR taketh away, though. Moments after the break, Liverpool looked to have been saved by the offside flag when Jackson ran through to score. There were hasty celebrations from the Anfield crowd as those at Stockley Park drew the lines and found Chelsea's forward to have timed his run perfectly.
Cue Match Centre's third statement: "Jackson’s goal was disallowed for offside on-field. The VAR checked and confirmed that Jackson was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded."
That was, fortunately, the end of the game-delaying VAR decisions. Ultimately Liverpool had it come to their advantage, handing Salah the chance to open the scoring, even if Adarabioyo might have been sent off in other instances. The second Jones penalty was also contentious, Jamie Carragher saying he felt it was a foul.
Addressed with clarity, VAR served its purpose here.