Mystery and anger continues to surround the decision to rule out Arsenal's late winning 'goal' in their 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday.


On a toxic evening of controversy and vitriol, which included Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka appearing to swear at the home supporters after being booed, the Gunners thought they had snatched victory in the 85th minute when Sokratis Papastathopoulos bundled the ball in after a corner.

After lengthy celebrations, and despite no apparent protests from the Palace players, the goal was ruled out for a foul - believed to have been committed by Calum Chambers.

But replays of the goal, which weren't shown in the ground in any case, proved inconclusive, suggesting that Chambers had in fact been pushed and then tripped during the scramble.

Clear and obvious views of opposing managers

While Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson told reporters after the game "I've seen it now and understand why it was disallowed", the decision bewildered under-pressure Unai Emery.

"That is not a foul," said Emery. "VAR said it was a foul but I checked it after and it's a goal.

"VAR is positive and we need VAR. But we need to manage that in the right way."

The Arsenal boss was further aggrieved at the apparent inconsistencies surrounding the intervention - and the decision to overrule the match referee in the first half to award Palace a spot-kick - after his side had two penalty appeals ignored in their defeat at Sheffield United on Monday.

"It was amazing to check that penalty. In the last match here against Bournemouth, we deserved a very clear penalty, more clear than this evening, but they didn't check. OK, it wasn't important in the final result because we won 1-0. Last week in Sheffield, we had a very clear penalty on Sokratis at 0-0. It was a very important moment but they didn't check. We respected it and we lost," complained Emery.

Referring to the refusal of Premier League referees to watch replays on the available touchline screens, the Arsenal boss added: "If the referee watched that action on the TV, I am sure he would not decide that it was a foul. In the office with the TV, I don't know who the person is who decides this. Who is the person who checked that?"

So who did rule out Arsenal's winner?

Jarred Gillett was the VAR official for Arsenal's clash with Palace. A 32-year-old Australian, Gillett has never taken charge of a Premier League game, with his refereeing experience in England limited to nine Football League fixtures.


https://www.reportminds.com/2019/10/why-was-arsenals-winning-goal-ruled-out.html?m=1

lalasticlala, seun, mynd44, dominique

I am learning