Jarred Gillett initially awarded a spot-kick after Viktor Gyokeres went down in the area following contact from Nick Pope. ..Continue Reading
However, after reviewing the footage on the VAR monitor and taking several minutes to assess the situation, Gillett reversed his original call.
It was determined that Pope had touched the ball before making contact with the Swedish forward. The Premier League Match Centre confirmed on X: “14′ VAR OVERTURN: After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of penalty to Arsenal.
Referee announcement: ‘After review, the Newcastle goalkeeper plays the ball and there is no foul. The final decision is drop ball.'”
The moment unfolded in the 14th minute when a misplaced pass from Jacob Murphy allowed Gyokeres a clear run at goal. Pope charged out and appeared to trip the striker with his extended right leg.
Yet upon closer inspection, Pope seemed to reach the ball first, prompting Gillett to overturn his initial decision.
Following the announcement to the stadium, Mikel Arteta was seen laughing on the sidelines, clapping sarcastically and shaking his head in disbelief.
Gary Neville, providing co-commentary for Sky Sports at St James’ Park, said: “Pope came out and committed. Gyokeres was close to the goalkeeper and he just nipped it past him. It looked a penalty in real time.
“Pope will be the most relieved man in this stadium. I still think they should have had a penalty. If I’m an Arsenal fan I want the penalty. If I’m a Newcastle fan, I’m relieved.”
Newcastle added to Arsenal’s frustration by scoring in the 35th minute, with Nick Woltemade heading home from a Sandro Tonali delivery.
Arsenal players argued that the goal should have been disallowed due to a foul on Gabriel Magalhaes, as Woltemade briefly placed both hands on the Brazilian’s back.
Despite the complaints, VAR concluded that Woltemade made only ‘minimal contact’ and that Gabriel had exaggerated the challenge.
Although Arteta was visibly upset again, Neville added: “There is nothing in that, that is not a foul. That’s a really good header.”
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