Plus: Why did Erling Haaland not get a penalty against Jordan Pickford? Was Yerry Mina's reaction to Aymeric Laporte 'so unnecessary'? Should Gabriel Martinelli have been sent off, and Moises Caicedo for his retribution?
Monday 15 May 2023 19:48, UK
On the latest Ref Watch, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher looks back at the most controversial moments from the weekend's games.
INCIDENT: When jostling at a Bournemouth corner with the game goalless, Joachim Andersen appears to strike Jefferson Lerma in the nose with his fist, leaving him on the floor. The referee does not seem to witness the incident, and a lengthy VAR review rules the Crystal Palace defender was not at fault.
DERMOT SAYS: "The VAR felt it wasn't a swing at the player, so he didn't gather enough momentum. But looking at that, he's so, so lucky.
"If you jab someone in the face with a clenched fist, I think if the referee had seen that it would've been a red card. The clenched fist is the key for me, it doesn't travel a long way but it travels with enough impact to break his nose.
"It's done with malice, there's no doubt about that and he's very lucky. Without doubt the referee's not going to see it with the amount of jostling at a corner."
INCIDENT: With both players chasing a high ball in the Everton box, Jordan Pickford catches Erling Haaland in the face with his hand. The Man City forward goes down, but the referee waves play on and VAR does not intervene.
DERMOT SAYS: "Haaland does the same [as Pickford]. He has a look where he is, he's very happy to stand there and makes no attempt to play the ball.
"The referee has the best view, and once the referee says no penalty on the field, which I think is right, the VAR's not going to overrule that.
"I feel Haaland does as much as Pickford. If he sides with the goalkeeper, you'd say they always back the goalkeeper. He has three choices - free-kick to Pickford, penalty to Haaland, or play on. He took the third choice."
INCIDENT: Yerry Mina and Aymeric Laporte get into a brief scuffle waiting for a throw-in in the Everton area. Laporte hits out at Mina around his thigh, but the defender goes down clutching his face. Pep Guardiola later singles him out for criticism, saying his actions were "not necessary".
DERMOT SAYS: "He certainly doesn't get hit in the face, does he? It's almost like a fly swatter. He's grabbed hold of him as if to say 'get off me', and suddenly he's acting like he's been punched in the face, which certainly didn't happen.
"It's not a very good advert."
INCIDENT: Gabriel Martinelli leads with his arm when jumping for a high ball with Kaoru Mitoma, catching him in the face with his elbow. A foul is awarded but no cards are shown.
DERMOT SAYS: "I think it's a yellow. I think it's reckless, and it's not a good challenge - there's no doubt about that. But he doesn't lead with his elbow, he doesn't go into him with a fist or anything like that.
"It's not nice, but a yellow card is enough for it as it's reckless."
INCIDENT: Not long after, Moises Caicedo fouls Martinelli from behind on the halfway line, sending him to the ground when he catches him on the foot. Only a foul is given, and Martinelli is substituted soon after having failed to recover.
DERMOT SAYS: "It should have been another yellow card. The problem is that one didn't get done, and Caicedo felt he was going to take action. Not a nice tackle, and he ended up having to leave the field injured.
"I think if the yellow card came out for the first one, the second might never have happened - but you never know."
INCIDENT: Moments before Brighton's opening goal, Evan Ferguson catches Jakub Kiwior on the back of his calf. By the time Julio Enciso scores, the defender is on the floor and ends up needing treatment before play restarts. Neither the referee nor VAR intervene.
DERMOT SAYS: "VAR did have a look at it, I was looking at the screen and the VAR looked at it for a long time and decided it wasn't a foul. The referee obviously would be aware of that.
"I don't think he raked him down his calf or Achilles. I don't think it's a foul, it's two players coming together. It was only picked up much, much later and people make a big thing of it because it's a goal. If it happened anywhere else, everyone would just accept playing on."
INCIDENT: Danny Ings fires in a second-half goal to seemingly reduce West Ham's deficit to 2-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium.
VAR advises the referee to check the pitchside monitor and, after a review, he disallows it for a handball against Divin Mubama moments before the goal, when the ball rebounds off the post and hits his raised arm. David Moyes later labels the decision "very strange".
DERMOT SAYS: "Everyone thinks handballs are harsh now, but if an arm's that high and it strikes the arm in the build-up, it's going to be given all the time. You feel for the player, he'll say he didn't mean to do it, but his arm's up to shoulder height.
"It was only a recommendation, but the referee went across and made his own decision. It's the on-field referee who has decided that."
INCIDENT: Harry Kane, chasing a ball into the Aston Villa area, pokes it past Emiliano Martinez and goes down under the goalkeeper's challenge. The referee initially gives nothing, but after a VAR review a penalty is awarded to Tottenham and is then scored by Kane.
DERMOT SAYS: "I think it's a definite penalty and good intervention from the VAR. Kane is very clever, he gets to the ball first, moves it away from Martinez and he then goes to ground.
"I've said many, many times. When a goalkeeper goes to ground like that, he's got to get the ball and clearly he doesn't. He slides into Kane and can't stop himself on the ground like that - it's a penalty."
INCIDENT: Ollie Watkins stands up Emerson Royal in the Tottenham penalty area, and though the Spurs defender gets a touch on the ball with a sliding challenge he goes through the Villa forward and sends him tumbling. Both the referee and VAR are happy with play to continue.
DERMOT SAYS: "I think the referee thinks he gets the ball and the VAR agrees with him. I think he gets the ball as well first.
"He challenges for the ball, he gets the ball and you've got two players coming in opposite directions. It's not as if I've got the ball but I've made sure I've followed through. If the ball was there and I go over it, and catch you on the knee, but he doesn't."
