Overview
- Referee Michael Oliver declined to award a late penalty and VAR Darren England confirmed no infringement, citing initial shoulder contact and a natural arm position.
- Mikel Arteta said it was a very clear penalty and rejected the PGMO rationale, arguing Aina then used his hand to control the ball.
- Forest manager Sean Dyche labeled Arsenal’s appeals ridiculous and warned such awards would be excessive, while pointing to his side’s own denied claim on the box line.
- Pundits split on the incident: Martin Keown felt it warranted a penalty review, Steven Gerrard called Aina’s movement natural and not a clear and obvious error, and ex-referee Mark Clattenburg backed the officials, noting opponent contact influenced the arm movement.
- The match finished 0-0 and the decision remains unchanged, intensifying debate over how handball is interpreted and applied via VAR in the Premier League.