Howard Webb, the Chief of the PGMOL, awarded Arsenal Star a controversial red card.

Howard Webb, the chief executive of PGMOL, has defended the decision by VAR to intervene and dismiss Arsenal defender William Saliba during their recent 1-0 loss to Bournemouth.

was initially issued a yellow card for tripping Bournemouth forward Evanilson near the halfway line. However, he was ultimately awarded a red card following a VAR review.

Initially, referee Rob Jones had determined that Ben White was sufficiently near to Evanilson to obstruct a clear goalscoring opportunity. However, video assistant referee (VAR) suggested otherwise.

Jones reversed his decision and issued Saliba his first career red card after consulting the pitchside monitor. Arsenal suffered the consequences of this decision, as they were unable to field Saliba for their subsequent match against Liverpool and ultimately lost the match.

Webb clarified that Arsenal briefly considered appealing, but such an endeavour would likely be unsuccessful due to the evidence supporting VAR’s decision. He attributed the initial on-field misjudgment to a poorly placed pass from Leandro Trossard, which placed Saliba under duress. Webb clarified,

“Evanilson was denied an obvious opportunity to score goals due to Saliba’s offence.” Clearly, the yellow card issued by Rob Jones was inaccurate in this context. CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PRESENT.Join the Arsenal WhatsApp Group Chat Now! He observed that Trossard’s errant pass had altered the game’s dynamic, necessitating a prompt decision from the officials.

“Initially, it seemed that Ben White was in closer proximity to Evanilson than he actually was, and there was uncertainty regarding Evanilson’s ability to control the ball,” Webb stated.

VAR clarified that White was not in a position to intercept Evanilson and that Arsenal custodian David Raya was backing off, allowing Evanilson to recover control and set up a clear shot on goal through the available space and time.

“In this instance, VAR implemented an effective intervention.” Webb concluded, “It was a clear and obvious error not to display a red card on the pitch.”