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Published : 03 Sep 2025, 02:27 PM
Referees body (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb said the decision to disallow Josh King's goal for Fulham in their 2-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea last weekend was wrong and that the video assistant referee (VAR) made a mistake by intervening.
The 18-year-old midfielder's effort was ruled out after a VAR check due to Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz stepping on Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah's foot in the lead-up to the goal.
Fulham manager Marco Silva was left fuming by the decision, labelling it "unbelievable" in his post-match comments.
The fallout from the decision saw Michael Salisbury, the VAR official for the fixture, stood down for the Premier League game between Liverpool and Arsenal on Sunday.
"It wasn't controversial, it was wrong," Webb said on Match Officials Mic'd Up TV programme on Tuesday. "We've established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR.
"They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm and tempo of the game. We've also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.
"In this situation, that guidance wasn't followed properly.
"There was a misjudgment by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah.
"The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened."
VAR has been under scrutiny early in the new season, with Burnley manager Scott Parker voicing his frustration after his side conceded a contentious late penalty at Manchester United.
