Kai Havertz should have been sent off before scoring winner vs Brentford
Kai Havertz should have been shown a second yellow card for diving in Arsenalâs victory over Brentford before he scored the winning goal that sent his team top of the Premier League.
The Germany forward had already been booked for elbowing Kristoffer Ajer when he fell in the opposition box to try to win a penalty as he competed for the ball with Nathan Collins in the 65th minute.
Replays showed there had been no contact between the Arsenal attacker and Brentford defender, and now the Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has ruled that Havertz should have been shown a second yellow card for âa clear act of simulationâ 21 minutes before he scored a hugely significant goal in the 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium on March 9.
Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach, said at the time that âHavertz shouldnât have been on the pitch when he scoredâ.
The KMI panel sits every week to vote on whether key decisions were correct and the outcome of those votes feeds into the overall rating for match officials. That dictates their place in a merit table, and therefore determines how much they receive in bonuses.
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The panel is independent and made up of five members â three former players or coaches from a pool of five retained by the top flight, plus a representative from the Premier League and the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL). They review the contentious issues in each Premier League game.
All five members of the panel were unanimous in saying that Havertz should have been booked. Their conclusion read: âHavertz is already falling when the defender makes contact, brushing Havertzâs hip. The panel unanimously agreed the on-field decision was incorrect and Havertz should have been awarded a second caution for a âclear act of simulationâ. â
VAR could not intervene at the time as it is unable to review yellow cards. The fury of Brentfordâs players had not subsided at full-time and in the tunnel after the game. They confronted Rob Jones, the referee, and Collins was allegedly heard shouting: âItâs a f***ing disgrace.â There has been no FA charge as the matter was not included in Jonesâs report.
âFor me, it was a clear dive â the penalty shout,â Frank said after the game.â If you see that slowly back, itâs clear. Maybe itâs difficult for Rob, the ref, but the linesman should have seen it, in my opinion, clearly. I actually donât think Havertz should be on the pitch when he scored the goal.â
The KMI panel also ruled that Michael Oliver was correct not to give a penalty in the 98th minute of Liverpoolâs 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Anfield on March 10, when JĂ©rĂ©my Doku looked to have caught Alexis Mac Allister with a raised foot in the penalty area. JĂŒrgen Klopp berated the three on-field officials after the game, but the panel said Oliver had made the right call.
The verdict read: âThe panel were split (3:2) with the majority supporting the on-field no-penalty decision.
â[It was] a genuine attempt to play the ball . . . with both players coming into contact with each other as a result. Doku is just about entitled to challenge for the ball and, despite making contact with Mac Allisterâs chest, he makes contact with the ball.
âTwo panelists felt that the on-field decision was incorrect and a penalty should have been awarded as âMac Allister gets there first. Dokuâs foot is high and makes clear contact with his studs on Mac Allisterâs chestâ.
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âThe majority of the panel (4:1) supported the VARâs decision to not intervene but one panelist felt the VAR was incorrect to not intervene for a clear and obvious error.â
The panel also ruled that the Brighton & Hove Albion player Jakub Moder should have been sent off in their 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest for a foul on Neco Williams.
âThe panel unanimously agreed the on-field decision was incorrect and the VAR should have intervened for a clear and obvious error,â the verdict read. âThe challenge is dangerous and out of control with a high degree of intensity and force driven by the speed of the challenge.â
