The video assistant referee creates debates each week in the Premier League, but what is the decision-making process and how accurate are the outcomes?
This season, we will analyze significant incidents to clarify and delve into the procedure regarding both VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.
Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, boasting over 12 seasons on the elite list, officiating in the Premier League and Championship. With vast experience at the highest level, he has been involved in the VAR domain in the Premier League and provides a distinct perspective on the methods, reasoning, and protocols that are implemented on matchday in the Premier League.
Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City
Referee: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Craig Pawson
Time: 10 minutes
Incident: Red card challenge
What occurred: Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot mistimed a challenge on Jérémy Doku, hitting the Manchester City forward high on the knee. The on-field ruling by referee Anthony Taylor was a yellow card, which was upheld by VAR Craig Pawson.
VAR ruling: The referee’s decision to issue a yellow card to Dalot for a reckless challenge was reviewed and validated by VAR — with the contact considered to be minimal and not excessively forceful.
Conclusion: Clearly, this will be a significant topic of discussion in this derby match — particularly as it occurred just 10 minutes in, and United proceeded to win the match.
This was a careless challenge by Dalot. The contact was unnecessarily delayed, high, and across Doku’s knee, all factors that would have placed Pawson in a difficult spot while reviewing the challenge so early in a derby encounter.
The immediate communication from Taylor, characterizing the challenge and subsequent level of contact as reckless rather than dangerous — a reasonable perspective from the field — would have been Pawson’s starting point in this review process.
After watching the replays, Pawson would likely have felt uneasy due to the nature of the challenge. However, given the timing of the incident, he may not have found the replays to provide sufficient evidence to suggest an on-field review and would have worked diligently to align the visuals with the on-field call of yellow card instead of red.
I empathize with Pawson and comprehend his reasoning in this case, but I believe a red card would have been anticipated for this incident. The challenge’s nature was dangerous, entirely unnecessary, and certainly compromised the safety of the opponent.
