April 09, (THEWILL) – In a dramatic twist to Saturday’s English Premier League match between Brighton and Tottenham, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), has admitted that the match officials and VAR made a mistake by not awarding Brighton and Hove Albion a penalty.
The incident occurred when Kaoru Mitoma was brought down by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in the box, but referee, Stuart Attwell, chose not to award a spot-kick. VAR official, Michael Salisbury, quickly reviewed the incident, but upheld the original decision.
This was just one of three strong penalty claims made by Brighton in the game, none of which were awarded, and Tottenham went on to secure a 2-1 victory. The result was a bitter blow for Brighton, who dropped to seventh place in the league table. The club has demanded an explanation from PGMOL and expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision-making during the match.
The PGMOL has issued a public apology to Brighton for the mistake made by the match officials and VAR. This marks the third apology the club has received from PGMOL this season for incorrect decisions made during matches.
The incident has once again brought into question the effectiveness of VAR and its impact on the game. Clubs and experts alike are calling for greater consistency in decision-making and clearer guidelines for the use of VAR in EPL matches.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
