Arsenal get clear PGMOL response after Mikel Arteta and Bukayo Saka Newcastle complaint

Howard Webb has hit back at Arsenal's Mikel Arteta and Bukayo Saka, and declared the correct decision was made to overturn the penalty awarded to the north London side. The Premier League referees' chief called it a "clear error" by referee Jarred Gillett.

Following their win over Newcastle, both Arteta and Saka questioned the use of video assistant referee after Nick Pope brought down Viktor Gyokeres in the opening half at St James' Park. Gillett initially pointed to the spot before VAR advised the Australian to review it on the on-field monitor.

After seeing the action back, it emerged that Pope got a touch on the ball before colliding with Gyokeres. That was deemed enough to reverse the decision.

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Following several replays, Gillett announced that the decision was no penalty. "After review, the Newcastle goalkeeper plays the ball and there is no foul," the Australian said. "The final decision is drop ball."

Arteta and Saka both indicated that it was not a 'clear and obvious error' in the post-match assessments. Webb has explained in great detail why it was, as Gillett had not seen the contact originally.

"The VAR checks the penalty," Webb said on the Premier League's Match Officials Mic'd Up show. "When he does that, he clearly sees that Gyökeres gets to the ball, pokes it a little bit forward but then, importantly, Nick Pope also gets a very clear touch on the ball as he steps forward with that right foot and deviates the direction that the ball is going in. That hadn't been appreciated on the field by the referee.

"Pope then plants his foot on the ground, he doesn't drive it forward into Gyökeres. There's clearly a gap between the two players after Pope has played the ball and then the two players come together quite normally.

"The action by Pope is normal, it's not reckless, it's just a kick out towards the ball, the ball deviates, no contact on the player until the ball has been played away and then the contact happens fairly normally so not a foul and therefore a good use of the VAR to intervene to show the referee what really happened.

"I think the deviation is quite clear. You'll see that touch by Gyökeres, then you'll see Pope's right leg come in.

"It touches the ball, it moves the ball away in a different direction to the direction it was previously going in. When he then puts his foot on the ground having made contact with the ball, there's a separation between him and Gyökeres. There's no contact at that point. The contact only happens after Pope has played the ball.

"So, it's a good challenge by Pope, it's not a foul and there was an important part around this in that the referee didn't recognise that touch by Pope in real time, hence the reason that when the VAR saw it, he deemed it to be a clear and obvious error, because that touch by Pope hadn't been seen and therefore the referee could go to the screen to look at that really important aspect and make a judgement for himself and that judgement was, yes, I've seen the touch and therefore it's not a foul and I'm going to start with a dropped ball.

"We work with referee's call, it's an important principle in the Premier League where the call will be made on the field by the referee. It'll only get overturned if, when the VAR looks at the footage, he sees no reason at all to support the decision, there's no mix of considerations and it's a clear error.

"In this one, when you see Pope reach out with that foot, play the ball cleanly without making any contact with the opponent, in fact he doesn't really make contact with the opponent, they come together as a normal consequence of that clean challenge by Pope.

"The referee hadn't recognised that touch, it was important that the VAR saw it and deemed it was a clear error and I agree with the VAR's intervention.

"So, the referee can go to the screen, look at the full sequence, see that touch and see that there was a normal playing action by Pope and the penalty was rightly cancelled."