Arsenal handball claims, McTominay red card

Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made, and are they correct?

After each weekend we take a look at the major incidents, to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.

– How VAR decisions affected every Prem club in 2022-23
– VAR in the Premier League: Ultimate guide

In this week’s VAR Review: A whole host of handball penalty claims for Arsenal in their comeback win against AFC Bournemouth, as well as one penalty for Manchester United at Liverpool and a red card for Scott McTominay. Plus all the big decisions around the Premier League over the weekend.

Possible penalty: Handball by Mepham

What happened: In the 24th minute, Chris Mepham jumped to win a looping ball under pressure from Fabio Vieira. He missed it with his head and the ball struck his arm. Arsenal’s players appealed for a penalty.

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: This was the first of an incredible four handball penalty appeals from Arsenal, and each one is covered by a slightly different area of the law. This one comes down to the top of the arm being considered a legal place for the ball to hit.

The modern interpretation (the whole arm all the way up to the shoulder used to be considered handball) is very difficult to apply consistently. The logic is that the top part of the arm cannot make the silhouette of the body bigger no matter what position it’s in, so shouldn’t be considered handball.

The boundary isn’t the bottom of the sleeve, it’s described as being “in line with the bottom of the armpit.” The IFAB’s diagram shows how this should be judged when a player is jumping, but determining the exact point on the arm that the surface of the ball touches, and where the actual boundary line sits, is a difficult one for any referee or VAR to judge.

Premier League…