Referee Michael Oliver ignored VAR to allow Arsenal to score a late winner over Everton under disputed circumstances.
Kai Havertz nudged his side ahead minutes before the finish of a hard-fought match in north London, but the away team questioned whether the goal should stand when it struck Gabriel Jesus’ arm in the build-up.
Oliver was summoned to the pitchside monitor to examine his decision to allow play to continue, but in an uncommon move since the Premier League’s implementation of VAR, he chose not to overrule the original ruling.
Sean Dyche, who has frequently complained about the inevitability of verdicts being altered once the on-field official is shown on the screen, took note of this. In response to Oliver breaking the trend at the Emirates, the Blues manager said: “Funny how it is in a title race and it goes the other way.”
Everton were equal at 1-1 as the game entered stoppage time when Ashley Young’s loose pass was intercepted by Jesus’ arm. The Arsenal striker broke and sent in Martin Odegaard, whose effort was deflected wide by Jordan Pickford but into the path of Havertz, who finished from close range.
Pickford and his teammates protested the goal, and it appeared to be overturned when VAR intervened. According to the ECHO, Oliver was summoned to the monitor to determine whether Jesus had intentionally handled, but he remained satisfied with his original call. Dyche, on the other hand, was left chuckling in bewilderment on the sidelines.
When asked about his thoughts on the decision following the match, he said: “We are all concerned about handball; we don’t know where it lives. In a title contest, it’s interesting to see the opposite outcome. At the end of the day, we’re all concerned about handball; we don’t know where it lives. That is one that I find tough to argue against. It’s a handball right in his path; he rushes through, and they score. That one for me must be surrendered.”
