Should James Milner have been sent off in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Man City? Should Timo Werner's goal in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Southampton have been allowed to stand? And should Christian Kabasele have been penalised and Watford's goal disallowed in a 1-0 loss at Leeds?
Monday 4 October 2021 18:22, UK
Former Premier League ref Dermot Gallagher returns to run the rule over James Milner's lucky escape, Watford's disallowed equaliser at Leeds, yet another overturned Timo Werner goal and much more.
REFEREE: Paul Tierney
INCIDENT: Already booked for a first-half foul, James Milner sends Bernardo Silva crashing to the ground on the left flank. He gets away without a second yellow card from Tierney, which is later branded by Micah Richards as "an absolute shocker".
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "If you're going to have a second yellow card in a game, you want it to be one where everyone says 'yeah, he's got no choice'. I think that fell into that bracket, it was giftwrapped for him, only he will know why he didn't send him off.
"Even if you blow up for the Henderson foul before, we talk about what people in football expect and everyone in football would have expected that to be a red card."
SUE SMITH SAYS: "There's no argument - I think everyone agrees it was a second yellow."
INCIDENT: Minutes after Milner's near-miss, Fabinho is booked for a markedly similar foul on Silva.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "It isn't always easy to be consistent over 90 minutes, I've been there and I know that, but it's a tackle, he gets a yellow card, and people look back and ask why the same punishment wasn't given out 10 minutes earlier."
REFEREE: Martin Atkinson
INCIDENT: Timo Werner appears to head Chelsea into a 2-0 lead before half-time. After a VAR review lasting more than two minutes, during which Atkinson reviews the incident on the pitchside monitor, the goal is ruled out for a foul committed by Cesar Azpilicueta 17 seconds before the goal.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "The last one I say tough call, this one I say interesting call. I don't think there's any doubt it's a foul, I think he's clipped him from behind.
"The feeling is that Southampton couldn't reset, I was surprised they went back that far. For me, it took a long time, there was a long time between the foul and the ball going in the net, six Chelsea players touched the ball and one Southampton player.
"It goes back to being a subjective decision by the VAR to say to the referee you've got to go and have a look. It's clear and obvious to the VAR, and when the referee went and had a look, he thought so as well."
SUE SMITH SAYS: "I'm not sure it was a foul, watching it back. The amount of time between that and the goal, there was so much more time for them to reset - I was surprised by that decision."
INCIDENT: James Ward-Prowse slides in on Jorginho just outside the Chelsea penalty area, catching him above the ankle. The Italian midfielder quickly gets to his feet and Ward-Prowse is initially booked by Atkinson, but after another trip to the pitchside monitor Atkinson overturns his decision and sends him off.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "When I first watched this on Saturday, my immediate reaction was yellow card. When you look back at it, like the VAR does, it's a red card.
"He comes in, catches him very late, high above the boot, and the VAR was quite right to send the referee over, and he's quite right to change his decision."
SUE SMITH SAYS: "There's no argument from Ward-Prowse. Sometimes you look at the players, what their reaction is.
"You can see what he's trying to do, he's trying to press knowing if they win the ball there, they're in. It's a little bit late, I thought it was a yellow at first, but seeing it on the replay, it's probably a red.
REFEREE: Simon Hooper
INCIDENT: With Leeds leading 1-0, Danny Rose's corner is dropped by Illan Meslier onto Liam Cooper's back and deflects into his own net. Watford are denied the equaliser by Hooper, who blows for a foul by Christian Kabasele on Cooper moments before the ball crosses the line.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "You need to watch this one very carefully. When it happened on Saturday, my first thought was that the goalkeeper had dropped the ball, the tangle between Kabasele and Cooper has no impact on the goal.
"When you look at it, it does. As they fall, it strikes Cooper's back and goes into the goal. There's a tangle, and because that tangle puts the ball into the net, the referee is forced to disallow that goal. He feels Kabasele has dragged Cooper down.
"There's no doubt they're grabbing each other. You can't ignore that, because it has such an impact. I think he was right to disallow it."
SUE SMITH SAYS: "They're both grappling each other and trying to get to the ball - it should be a goal, in my opinion."
INCIDENT: The ball is fed to Dan James inside the Watford area, where Hornets defender William Troost-Ekong puts his arm across the winger. He falls to the ground, but Hooper decides against giving a penalty.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "The referee's very close, I think if he gives a penalty, there's not too many people arguing.
"He thinks they're grabbing each other, the Watford player was running a massive risk putting his arm across James, but Simon Hooper was the closest person to it and said no."
SUE SMITH SAYS: "I think it was a penalty. Yes, as a defender you try to put your arm across to get in front, but Dan James has got in front of him. He brings him down."
REFEREE: Graham Scott
INCIDENT: Moments after Wolves' Jose Sa is hurt in a coming together with Joelinton, where the striker wins the ball but catches the goalkeeper as he dives at his feet, Jeff Hendrick fires Newcastle level with the goalkeeper back on his feet but still struggling with his shoulder.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "I think if it was a foul, it'd be a lot easier to dissect. But because it wasn't, the referee should blow his whistle to stop the game. He puts his whistle in his mouth, but is then seduced by the goalkeeper getting up and decides to play on.
"The problem is that because there wasn't a foul, VAR couldn't judge on the goal so it had to be the on-field decision. When you put your whistle in your mouth, blow it. Because he didn't, the goalkeeper got up - and at that point he took his whistle out of his mouth, and Hendrick scores."
REFEREE: Kevin Friend
INCIDENT: Ashley Westwood's free-kick is met by Matej Vydra marginally ahead of Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul, whose attempted punch hits the Burnley striker on the side of the head. Friend waves play on, and VAR does not order a review.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "I think they get there very close together. I can never see a referee giving a penalty for it, I've seen it so many times over the years, you just don't see a penalty given for it. There's a chance he may have got to the ball first, but I've never seen a penalty given for it."
SUE SMITH SAYS: "That's a penalty."
REFEREE: Nick Walsh
INCIDENT: Hibs defender Ryan Porteous flies into a challenge with Joe Aribo, catching him with a high foot, and is shown a straight red card by Walsh.
DERMOT'S VERDICT: "When you look at it, he's gone over the top of the ball.
"Luckily he didn't catch the man as badly as he could have done, but he's gone straight over the top of the ball - red card, and the speed he went at.
"If they feel in Scotland an extra layer [VAR] will give them a parachute of getting decisions right which have been wrong in the past, then it's got to be a good thing."
