PGMOL chief admits correct guidance not followed for King's disallowed goal

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb admitted the decision to rule out Josh King’s goal against Chelsea was incorrect and stated that correct guidance was not followed by the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR).

Fulham ended up losing the contest 0-2 after King’s goal was disallowed in the 22nd minute of the contest due to VAR intervention for a foul by Rodrigo Muniz in the build-up.

Speaking on Match Officials Mic'd Up - a television programme which analyses VAR decisions from previous gameweeks - PGMOL chief refereeing officer Webb acknowledged the error.

"It wasn't controversial, it was wrong. We've established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR. They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm and tempo of the game. We've also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.

"In this situation, that guidance wasn't followed properly. There was a misjudgement by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah. The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened,” said Webb.

After the defeat, Fulham head coach Marco Silva, whose side remains winless after three games, could not believe the decision that was given against his side.

"How you disallow a goal like that is unbelievable. We have meetings with referee and people in charge, we all want to win. VAR is not here to re-referee the game.

"I would prefer not to say something more because I would be punished. I want to be on the touchline next week to help my team, I don't want to be fined.

"But it has been a difficult start to the season with some decisions,” Silva told TNT Sports.

--IANS

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