Overview
- The Key Match Incidents Panel voted 3-2 that referee Sam Barrott’s no-penalty call was incorrect and that VAR Michael Salisbury should have sent him to the monitor.
- The incident occurred in the 57th minute with Arsenal leading 1-0, as Thierno Barry reached the ball first and William Saliba kicked the Everton striker’s boot.
- The Premier League Match Centre had said the contact was not enough for a penalty, highlighting a divergence from the panel’s assessment.
- Managers questioned consistency in recent penalty calls, with David Moyes pointing to similar incidents that received spot-kicks.
- The same review backed several other 20 December decisions, including unanimity on Xavi Simons’ red card and Hugo Ekitike’s goal, a 4-1 endorsement of Cristian Romero’s second yellow, and a split view that Newcastle’s on-field penalty shout did not meet the VAR threshold.