Premier Leagues calls for an emergency meeting over VAR errors

• The Premier League has seen controversial VAR decisions made over the weekend when matchweek 23 was played
• Chelsea was denied a penalty when West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek was deemed to have handled in the 189-yeard box
• Brentford was deemed to have scored from an onside position against Arsenal despite the fact it looked offside from the cameras

Referee chief Howard Webb has called all Premier League referees, assistants and VAR officials to an emergency meeting following a weekend full of controversy in England’s top flight.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has admitted that officials working on VAR were guilty of ‘human error’ on two separate occasions on Saturday.

Lee Mason did not use the right lines to analyse a potential offside call for Brentford’s equaliser against Arsenal, which was controversially allowed to stand before John Brooks used the wrong defender to rule out a goal for Brighton in their meeting with Crystal Palace. Both games ended in 1-1 draws.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney scored the equaliser in the Premier League clash against Arsenal and the goal was deemed to have scored from an offside position in the build-up but the VAR confirmed the goal. | PHOTO: Shaun Botterill |

Chelsea was also on the poor side when they faced West Ham in Saturday’s early kick-off. In the second half, West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek seemed to have handled the ball in the 18-yard box but the Video Assistant Referee quickly ruled out the appeal by Chelsea players. The match also ended in a 1-1 draw.

VAR cleared West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek was deemed to have handled in the box when Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher shot on goal when the two sides clashed in the Premier League on Saturday, February 11 2023. | PHOTO; Independent |

“Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed,” a PGMOL statement read.

Now, the Daily Mail has reported that an ‘incredulous’ Webb has ordered all officials to an emergency summit to discuss how to avoid such errors in the future.

The report even suggests that the two officials in question, Mason and Brooks, could face significant disciplinary action as a result of their errors.

Brooks has since been removed from his scheduled role as a VAR official for both Monday’s Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton as well as Arsenal vs Manchester City on Wednesday.

The weekend results have left Arsenal just three points ahead of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.