Arsenal gained a significant advantage due to a VAR error

The Premier League acknowledged a major VAR error in the 1-0 victory of Arsenal over Everton, where Arteta’s side was wrongly denied an important penalty.

The Premier League organizers confirmed that VAR made an error during Arsenal’s win against Everton 1-0 on December 20, a moment that could have had a direct impact on this season’s title race.

According to the report from the Key Moments Investigation Panel (KMI Panel), Arsenal should have conceded a penalty when defender William Saliba collided with Everton’s striker Thierno Barry inside the box in the second half. Although referee Sam Barrott judged the incident as not worthy of a penalty, the VAR team agreed and did not request a review on the screen.

However, the KMI Panel, which includes five members—three former players or coaches plus representatives from the Premier League and the PGMOL refereeing body—voted 3-2 concluding that the referee was wrong not to award Everton a penalty, and VAR should have intervened.

“The decision not to award a penalty to Everton was checked and confirmed by VAR, but the level of contact from Saliba on Barry was sufficient for a penalty,” the Premier League report stated.

The match at Hill Dickinson ended with a 1-0 win for Arsenal – a result that temporarily put Mikel Arteta’s team two points ahead of Manchester City in the standings. Currently, Arsenal still leads by five points after their 4-1 victory over Aston Villa, while City have one game in hand against Sunderland.

Everton’s coach David Moyes expressed his frustration after the match: “I can’t say much because I might get fined, but clearly that decision was against us. We play hard, and we just want the referee to be fair,” he told Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta declined to comment extensively on the controversial incident: “I haven’t reviewed that moment yet. VAR checked it and made their decision, so I don’t want to say more,” he stated.

Both Saliba and Barry participated in the latest round: Saliba played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa, while Barry scored in Everton’s 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest.

The mistake acknowledged by the Premier League has reignited debates about the effectiveness and fairness of VAR, as every decision can heavily influence the fierce title race between Arsenal and Manchester City.