VAR controversy continues as Burnley hold Arsenal to a draw at home

The score ended 1-1 at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon but the game left plenty of talking points post-match, with VAR stealing the headlines once more.

Both of the goals in the game came in the first half, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring after only five minutes with a low, powerful strike beating Nick Pope at his near post early on, when Arsenal looked comfortable in the match.

Chris Wood levelled the scores in bizarre fashion just before half time, as Granit Xhaka played a hospital pass across the box striking Wood’s midriff and rolling into the goal to equalize just before the break.

Even though all the goals in the game came in the first half, the headlines from Saturday afternoon’s game will undoubtedly come from the second 45, with Arsenal having two separate penalty claims for the same reason. Handball.

In recent weeks, VAR and the handball rule specifically has received heavy criticism on several occasions, with seemingly everyone around football confused on what exactly the rule is when the ball strikes a player’s arm. The football lawmakers decided to take action last week, announcing that:

“Accidental handball that leads to a team-mate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence,” – football lawmakers Ifab  https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/handball-rule-change-explained-new-law-premier-league-ifab-meeting-899753

The first penalty appeal came just after Nicolas Pepe was introduced, the Ivorian winger danced his way around Eric Pieters leaving the full back mystified as the ball bounced up and struck his hand. The ball clearly appears to hit Pieters’ outstretched arm and so most would believe that this was a penalty. VAR decided it was not. The referee performed no on pitch review for the claim and play resumed with the scores level.

VAR was slightly redeemed on the second occasion of the half, when referee Andre Marriner awarded Arsenal a penalty for a handball by Pieters on the line. With the ball ricocheting off the post, player and keeper so quickly, it was hard to tell what actually happened from first inspection however it appeared that the referee had made the correct decision awarding a penalty and dismissing Pieters.

After consulting VAR, it was clear to see that the ball had bounced off Pieters’ shoulder which was a perfectly legal and good block meaning that the referee rescinded his decision to dismiss the substitute, giving a corner to Arsenal instead.

This is not the first time that VAR and handballs have been in the news in the last week, with no penalty given for a handball in the Chelsea vs Manchester United game and a goal being disallowed in the Fulham vs Spurs game for a handball in the build-up. All of these decisions including the one against Arsenal altered the result of the game and ultimately will play a huge part in the race for top four as well as survival this season. So surely now is the time to sort out the handball rule…. Right?

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