Many decisions by referee Jarred Gillett and his colleagues in the match between Newcastle and Arsenal are causing controversy on social networks.

Arsenal frustrated in the first half

One of the highlights of the confrontation between Arsenal and Newcastle was the situations related to VAR. Both Arsenal and Newcastle had reasons to feel frustrated and disagree with the decisions of the main referee Jarred Gillett after consulting the VAR team.

VAR advises referee to cancel Arsenal’s penalty

First, Arsenal had two situations in the first half. In the 14th minute, Murphy’s careless pass back became a beautiful assist for Gyokeres. The striker ran down and fell after being hit by Nick Pope. Initially, referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the penalty spot. However, the VAR team advised and the “king in black” decided to wait.

After that, referee Jarred Gillett personally reviewed the video and changed his decision. That was, Arsenal was not awarded a penalty and the ball was kicked up to Newcastle. The referee explained that the ball touched Nick Pope’s foot before the goalkeeper hit Gyokeres’ knee. Therefore, it was not a foul.

However, coach Mikel Arteta disagreed with this decision. He shared in the post-match press conference. “Yes, I watched it live and then I watched it on the screen, and for me it was a penalty. This season we’ve been told very clearly that unless it’s a clear and obvious foul, the referee won’t intervene. Not at all. That’s my view.”

The second situation that made Arsenal fans unhappy was Woltemade’s goal. Before the Newcastle striker headed the ball into David Raya’s net, the player pushed Gabriel from behind. However, the referees thought that the impact was not enough to make the Arsenal defender fall like that and the goal was awarded.

Newcastle suffered a similar situation in the second half

If Arsenal felt frustrated in the first half, Newcastle suffered a similar situation in the second half with a situation related to a penalty and a move that led to a goal. The first was Gabriel’s handball in the penalty area.

Newcastle were not awarded a penalty in this situation

Immediately after Merino’s equalizer, the Brazilian midfielder used his hand to block Elanga’s shot in the penalty area. Gabriel’s hand was in an unnatural position when it was spread out in the air. However, the VAR team and referee Jarred Gillett decided not to award a penalty to the home team.

According to the Premier League’s explanation later, the ball touched Gabriel’s shin before touching his hand. That made Gabriel’s handball valid because there was not enough time to react. However, Newcastle fans were still very angry because the ball only brushed Gabriel’s foot and did not change direction.

The anger of the “Magpies” fans increased even more with Gabriel’s goal to make it 2-1. The Brazilian midfielder was not at fault, but his teammate, Saliba, blocked goalkeeper Nick Pope’s movement in the 5m50 area from start to finish.

According to Article 12 of the FIFA Laws of the Game, if a player intentionally blocks the goalkeeper, preventing him from catching the ball or moving, the referee will award an indirect free kick to the goalkeeper. However, referee Jarred Gillett and the VAR team awarded the goal to Arsenal.