Fascinating audio shows how VAR officials overturned Newcastle’s penalty against Arsenal

Football fans finally got a peek behind the Stockley Park curtain after PGMOL chief Howard Webb showed me fascinating audio footage of VAR officials helping to reverse Newcastle’s penalty against Arsenal earlier this month.

The Magpies were awarded an early penalty against the Gunners in their clash at St James’ Park on 7 May, where Gunners defender Jakub Kiwior was penalized for handling the ball within the area.

But a VAR check concluded that referee Chris Kavanagh’s initial call for a penalty kick should be overturned, leaving Newcastle fans – including Alan Shearer – incensed at the call.

Now, for the first time in Premier League history, conversations between VAR and the referee on the pitch have been revealed as Webb lifted the lid on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.

Seconds after the penalty was awarded, Kavanagh’s microphone can pick up Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko and demand offside for Kieran Trippier in the run-up to check.

Fans were able to listen in on conversations between VAR and the referee over controversial calls

Howard Webb took to Sky Sports to lift the curtain and show the process behind VAR

As Newcastle’s corner kick is being taken, the VAR officials can be heard recounting possible fouls before engaging in constant discussion with the on-pitch referee.

“Kav, we’re going to check the penalty for you,” you hear head VAR official Michael Salisbury say.

Salisbury and his VAR assistant, Scott Ledger, discuss the call and wonder if the ball first hit Kiwior’s thigh rather than the arm.

After looking at various angles, the Stockley Park team concluded that the ball did in fact hit the Arsenal defender’s leg before it hit the arm, meaning the penalty should be reversed.

Salisbury says, ‘So the arm is in a natural position for me for the action it’s performing. The ball comes off the thigh and then makes a movement in that arm. I don’t think that should be a penalty kick.’

Ledger agrees, adding, “I agree, mate. He hit his thigh and he also pulls his arm back, so I agree, it’s not a penalty.’

After confirming that Trippier was present in the build-up, VAR officials are advising Kavanagh to take a look at the pitch monitor for himself.

‘Chris, it’s Michael. I’m going to recommend an on-field review to review that penalty you awarded. Can you let me know when you get to the monitor?”

As Kavanagh talks through their minds, the match official agrees to the assessment before reversing his initial decision.

Supporters have never been able to hear the conversations between officials before, but Webb was happy to change that on Monday night and even explained some of the unique terminology they use.

Newcastle conceded a penalty early on before the decision was reversed this month

It took VAR officials a few minutes to confirm that the ball hit the thigh in front of the arm

Referee Chris Kavanagh was instructed by the VAR to take another look at the field side of the incident

“You’re going to hear some voices. The referees on the field, the referee, the assistant referees and the fourth official. They make the decision, the decision on the field. Then the VAR and the assistant VAR are also heard. They’re the people doing the checks on those major key incidents,” Webb said as he played back the clips.

“They are also assisted by a replay operator, a technician, who gives officials the angles they need to make those important calls about whether or not to intervene because a clear and obvious error has been identified or not.’

On a number of clips, the officials could be heard calling ‘APP’, and Webb explained, ‘It means offensive possession phase or offensive play phase. That is the phase of play from the start of the attack leading up to the incident that can be judged.

“It could be a penalty or a red card for DOGSO (denial of a goal-scoring opportunity) or a goal of course.”

The PGMOL made several apologies to individual clubs over the course of the season and Webb was asked if this set a dangerous precedent.

Webb, who himself refereed in the Premier League between 2003 and 2014, insisted he was happy to admit mistakes and assured viewers he would be happy to return to Monday Night Football to explain future controversial decisions.

The decision was reversed by the on-field referee after consultation with VAR

“We agreed to engage in a lot of dialogue with clubs and I’ve had a lot of open conversations and admitted some incidents, most of them privately and a few in public. We’ll occasionally acknowledge those publicly,” Webb said.

“We want people to understand how good our officials are and to see the process and the rationale.

“We can’t play it (audio) live in-game, we can’t by the laws of the game, but there’s nothing stopping us from doing as we are tonight and doing it later.

“We’ve tried to show a range of situations and we want to do more of the same in the future.”