‘Very difficult to explain’ – Dermot Gallagher verdict on Poveda incident in Leeds v Chelsea
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has delivered a bizarre defence of referee Kevin Friend and the VAR crew in the Leeds United game against Chelsea on Saturday night.
Ian Poveda was clipped in the box by Ben Chilwell but stayed on his feet and wasn’t given a penalty.
The incident was not highlighted by VAR, despite it being almost identical to a penalty that was awarded by VAR in the game between Brighton and Liverpool last week.
Talking on Ref Watch (Sky Sports, Monday, 11.30am) Gallagher said, “Right, I think this is very difficult to explain.
“I’ve revisited the protocols to try to help me with this… What I will say is that if he [Poveda] goes down the referee has got a different decision to make.
“I think VAR was wise to stay out of this. The protocol says VAR is not there to say whether the ref has got it right or wrong. It’s there to advise on a clear and obvious error. And I think it was right to stay out of this one.
“I think if Poveda had gone down there’s a different decision to make. It’s very different when players stay on their feet. It’s why players go to ground. We’ll never know but if he’s gone down the referee might still have made the same decision.
“But, from what I’ve read VAR has no right to interfere with the decision the referee has made.”
Gallagher was asked about the Welbeck incident and whether it was the same.
“It was,” said Gallagher. “Poveda stays on his feet, Welbeck went down, that’s the difference.
“There’s a subtle difference [with the Welbeck incident]. The two players were in isolation and the camera showed an angle the referee didn’t have.
“In this game, there are a number of players in the box and the only angle VAR has got is the same view as the referee’s. At Southampton, they had a number of different views.”
Nonsensical
Right, well that’s as clear as mud.
VAR is there to highlight something that’s been missed by the referee and if Kevin Friend had seen the contact then he surely would have given the spot-kick?
Especially after the precedent set last week.
Why should it matter that the only view VAR has is the same as Kevin Friend’s? If he misses something he’s missed something.
And why should a player be penalised for being honest?
The game needs consistency and VAR was supposed to take out the subjective and help right wrong decisions.
What Gallagher is saying is essentially that players have got to go down to get a decision whether they can stay on their feet or not.
That’s not a good message to be sending out to players and it’s only going to lead to more of them going down when they don’t have to.
Gallagher never likes taking a stand against VAR and referees but we think he’s tied himself into a logic knot over this one.
In other Leeds United news, Former Premier League referee delivers verdict on Poveda controversy in Leeds clash v Chelsea