Truth about Howard Webb intervention in William Saliba Arsenal red card vs Bournemouth revealed

Howard Webb, the head of referees body Professional Game Match Officials Limited [PGMOL], had no communication or input to the Video Assistant Referee regarding the decision to send off Arsenal star William Saliba against Bournemouth.

On review, the VAR told on-field referee Rob Jones to upgrade his initial yellow card to red. The Frenchman was judged to have brought down Cherries forward Evanlison having not made an attempt to win the ball as the last man.

PGMOL chief Webb was in attendance at the Vitality Stadium to watch the officiating, which later saw a penalty awarded to Bournemouth after David Raya brought down Evanilson in the 2-0 win for the hosts. Some on social media suggested or joked that Webb may have had an influence over the decision to send off Saliba.

The 2010 World Cup final referee had been captured by cameras using his phone while wearing an earpiece. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher had said on X: “Was Howard Webb involved in the decision making of the red card for Saliba??” before deleting the post minutes later.

However, football.london understands Webb had no direct contact with the match officials either on the field or in the VAR hub, nor had the option to. He was able to listen in to the audio feed of communications between the in-game and VAR officials, the same line that broadcasters have access to.

Explaining the decision to send off Saliba on 30 minutes, the Premier League said: "The referee gave Saliba a yellow card for a challenge on Evanilson. The VAR deemed that Saliba denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity and recommended an on-field review. The referee then upgraded the yellow to a red card."

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Saliba will consequently miss next weekend’s match against Liverpool on Sunday. Straight red cards incur a one-match ban unless it is for dissent (two-match ban) or violent conduct (three).