Howard Webb, PGMOL and the Premier League have opened discussions this season between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for important incidents.
In this last episode of “Match Officials Mic’d Up”, Howard Webb, Chief Operating Officer at PGMOL, the organization that supervises the competition officials of the competition, discussed a number of recent incidents.
The idea is to go through the conversations between the competition officials to give fans a greater knowledge of how decisions are made.
The officials on the field do not hear all the conversations of the VAR HUB in Stockley Park.
Under the recent incidents that Howard Webb has dissected, a much discussed about a newcastle United, of Sunday’s defeat against Arsenal.
Referee Jarred Gillett gave a penalty for the challenge, but Var Darren England advised a review on the field. Gillett looked at the TV repetitions and then rightly announced that the decision had been destroyed.
Howard Webb op Sky Sports Looking at this decision of Newcastle 1 Arsenal 2 on Sunday 28 September 2025:
What the officials said:
Ref: Decision on the field is a fine. Nick Pope, a trip by Nick Pope.
VAR: OK, checking the decision on the field field.
Replay Operator: Yes, I have a better approach here.
VAR: Does he get the ball, the keeper? I think he touches the ball. Nick Pope gets a touch with the ball here.
Assistant VAR: Yes, he does, yes.
VAR: Is he? Again. He actually gets a touch of the ball, right?
Avar: Yes, there is a secondary touch.
Var: please give me a perspective. Make sure that pope touches the ball, please.
Replay Operator: I have an SSM (Super Slow Motion), but this one is from the other side.
VAR: He touches the ball, right? First touches the ball, then there is contact. That is why that is not a penalty. He touches the ball there.
Replay operator: This is the best corner.
Avar: Do you have the view behind?
Replay operator: Yes, this is the best perspective I have.
VAR: He does, right? He touches. Ok, let’s view the app (attacking possession phase) if it also passes.
Avar: It is absolutely played by a defender. But check it anyway.
VAR: Jarred, I’m going to recommend a review on the field for a possible no fine. Let me know when you have the monitor. I’m also going to check the app. Nick Pope gets a touch with the ball.
Replay operator: I am going slowly so that you can check the app.
VAR: Yes, yes. It is his defender, a clear defender, right? It is always clear defender, that’s fine. The app has been checked, the app is also clear. I will first show you the tight corner with the ball touched by Nick Pope. Every contact that happens afterwards, after the contact has been made.
VAR: Nick Pope gets contact with his right foot, I will give you a different perspective.
Ref: Show me a better corner to see that he touches the ball.
VAR: I will do it, I’ll show you a better perspective.
Replay Operator: Do you want the SSM from the other side?
Var: yes, yes, yes, super slow. Super slow and now comes in. Gets a touch of the ball there. And then just plants his foot in a normal action.
Ref: The attacker first plays the ball. I don’t know if the keeper will play the ball.
VAR: The attacker plays the ball. Yes, the attacker plays the ball and the keeper then plays the ball with his right foot, there.
Ref: Just play it at full speed, please.
VAR: Every contact there, every contact afterwards is normal contact, because the goalkeeper just plays his foot.
Ref: Can you play it at full speed?
VAR: Play with normal speed for you.
Ref: So I first see the goalkeeper get a toe to the ball before you make contact.
VAR: Agreed.
Ref: So after a view the goalkeeper plays the ball, there is no mistake. Final decision, we drop ball.
VAR: confirmed.
Howard Webb’s Judgment:
“At full speed it looks a penalty, isn’t it? And you can absolutely understand why the referee gave what he saw on the field.
“He gave it for a stumbling action by Nick Pope. The VAR checks the penalty. It is clear that it is a revised situation, punishments, goals, etc.
“So he checks the fine, ensures that the decision is not clearly wrong. When he does, he clearly sees that Gyokeres gets the ball, it is a bit ahead, but then, more importantly, Nick Pope also gets a very clear touch on the ball while he is moving forward with that right foot and the direction that the ball goes.
“And that was not appreciated by the referee. Paus then plans his foot on the ground. He doesn’t drive it to Gyokeres.
“There is a gap, clearly an opening, between the two players after Pope has played the ball, and then the two players come together quite normal. The action of Paus is normal. It’s not reckless. It’s just a kick to the ball. The ball deviates.
“No contact on the player until the ball has been played, and then the contact happens fairly normal. So no error, and therefore a good use of the VAR to intervene to show the referee what really happened.
“The deviation is pretty clear. You will see that touch of Gyokees, and you see Pope’s right leg coming in. It touches the ball, it moves the ball away in a different direction to the direction in which it went earlier.
“When he then puts his foot on the floor, after he had made contact with the ball, there is a separation between him and Gyokees. There is no contact at that time. The contact only happens after Pope has played the ball.
“So it’s a good challenge for Pope. It’s not a mistake, and there was an important part around it because the referee did not recognize that touch by Pope in real time.
“Hence the reason that when the VAR saw it, he considered it a clear and obvious mistake, because that touch was not seen by Pope, and that is why the referee could go to the screen to look at that really important aspect and make a judgment for himself, and the judgment was: I saw the touch, so I am not going to start with the Drop -Bal.
“The referee had not recognized that touch, who was important, the VAR saw it and considered it a clear mistake. I agree with the intervention of the VAR, so that the referee can go to the screen, to the full series of Kijk, see that touch, see that a normal game promotion was rightly canceled.”
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