Key answers after incorrect VAR calls with Premier League referees due to meet

Premier League referees have been called to a meeting on Tuesday by their boss Howard Webb after two incorrect offside calls by VARs on Saturday.

The official involved in the error at the Crystal Palace v Brighton match, John Brooks, has already been replaced as VAR for two Premier League matches he was due to officiate this week, with appointments for the next round of top-flight games to be confirmed on Tuesday.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the issues.

What happened?

A goal by Ivan Toney for Brentford against league leaders Arsenal was allowed to stand after the match VAR, Lee Mason, failed to check an offside against Christian Norgaard in the build-up to it. He had checked and cleared another incident immediately before the passage of play leading to the goal.

Brighton had a goal ruled out for offside away to Crystal Palace when Brooks drew the offside lines on the wrong Palace defender.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued a statement on Sunday saying its chief refereeing officer Webb had contacted Arsenal and Brighton about the incidents “to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process”.

Brooks has been replaced as VAR for Monday night’s Merseyside derby and the Arsenal v Manchester City match on Wednesday.

What about Mason?

His and Brooks’ involvement in the next round of Premier League games is set to be made clear when appointments are announced at midday on Tuesday. Mason was not selected to officiate after another high-profile error earlier this season, when he incorrectly disallowed a goal for Newcastle in a home match against Palace in September for a foul by Magpies forward Joe Willock.

Why has Webb called a meeting?

Webb, who refereed the 2010 World Cup final, wants to identify the issues which led to the errors over the weekend, review what went wrong and move forward.

Webb is determined to improve standards among the league’s VARs and is working to bring in further support and coaching. Since the start of the current season, the VARs have received support from former rugby league referee and video-officiating specialist Phil Bentham.

How has the VAR system performed so far this season?

The five-person Key Match Incidents panel, made up of three former players or managers, a PGMOL representative and a Premier League representative – reviews each weekend’s actions and reports back to the clubs. Up to the World Cup break it had gone through hundreds of incidents and found where VARs had intervened to change an on-field decision, they had done so correctly 87.5 per cent of the time, with 42 correct interventions compared to six which were incorrect.

Webb is determined to get that percentage up even higher and to bring down the number of interventions overall by raising the bar for subjective decisions, so that only clear and obvious errors are reviewed.

While the focus is inevitably now on Mason and Brooks’ errors, a number of English VARs, such as Stuart Attwell, Darren England and Chris Kavanagh, are on the FIFA and UEFA lists. Attwell is regularly called upon by UEFA to oversee matches in its competitions.

How else can VAR be improved?

Webb is looking at ways to better communicate the decision-making process. FIFA has trialled referees communicating final decisions after a VAR check directly to the crowd in the stadium and the television audience during this month’s Club World Cup in Morocco, and Webb has been monitoring that with interest.

PGMOL is also monitoring how semi-automated offside technology – which was used at the World Cup – can benefit the Premier League.