VAR in the Premier League: the calls that got it right and wrong in the season's opening weeks

Another week, another round of controversy with VAR at the center of it. The 2026-27 Premier League season is already several matchdays in, and the pattern keeps repeating: some calls get made correctly, others draw understandable frustration from the touchline, and a handful fall into that gray area where protocol, more than gut instinct, ends up deciding the outcome. To understand what actually happened on each play, it's worth going through them one by one with an eye on the rulebook rather than the social media noise.

Rice avoids a red card by a hair in Brighton

In Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Arsenal on September 19, Declan Rice picked up a yellow card in the 90+7th minute for an off-the-ball kick on Malick Yalcouyé. Referee Darren England showed the card, and VAR official Tim Wood reviewed the incident without finding grounds to upgrade it to red. The rule is clear: VAR can only intervene on this type of play if it spots an act of violence or brutality that the referee missed, and that threshold wasn't met here. It was a gesture of frustration, almost an attempted trip, not an assault. Even so, Rice can consider himself lucky: had it been a red card, he would have missed three matches after the international break.

The Manchester derby: a clear red card and a goal that shouldn't have stood

In Manchester United 0-1 Manchester City on September 13, Michael Oliver sent off Phil Foden in the 23rd minute for a kick on Bruno Fernandes during a tangle between the two. VAR official Matt Donohue confirmed the red card without much debate: the replay matched what the referee had seen live. Foden lost his composure and paid dearly for a piece of contact that, regardless of intensity, was always going to end in a sending-off.

The real controversy came in the 60th minute, with Erling Haaland's goal. Semi-automated offside technology confirmed Haaland was in a legal position when the cross came in, that much isn't in dispute. The problem was elsewhere: Enzo Fernandez was offside directly in front of Lisandro Martinez, and VAR ruled that it didn't affect the play. The analysis suggests there was a clear impact on Martinez's ability to defend, and that the correct call would have been to send the referee to review the play himself on the monitor, since it involved a subjective judgment. That didn't happen, the goal stood, and the play will go down as a significant VAR error.

Sunderland-Arsenal: the penalty that wasn't

In Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal on September 12, referee John Brooks pointed to the spot in the 54th minute for an alleged foul by Ezri Konsa on Dan Ballard at a corner kick. His live explanation was that Konsa was "on top of him, with his back to the ball." VAR official Stuart Attwell confirmed the penalty based on that description. A look at the replay tells a different story: it was Ballard who pulled on Konsa's shirt, causing him to spin around and fall onto the Sunderland defender himself. The foul, in fact, belonged to the home attacker, and a free kick should have been awarded to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta ended up furious, and rightly so: when the referee's account doesn't match the replay, that's exactly when VAR is supposed to step in. It didn't.

Williams' disallowed goal and the ghost of Maguire

In Nottingham Forest 0-0 Tottenham on September 5, Neco Williams thought he had put his side ahead in the 67th minute after poking the ball into the net inside the opposing box. VAR official Peter Bankes ruled it out after checking multiple angles: the goal-line camera showed the ball had brushed his arm just before crossing the line, altering its path. It doesn't matter that it was accidental, the law is strict on that point and the goal had to be disallowed.

The obvious comparison is Harry Maguire's "handball goal" a week earlier, in Manchester United 5-2 Ipswich Town on August 30. In the 56th minute, the ball struck Maguire's arm before he himself shot, but the effort took a deflection off Jacob Greaves before going in. VAR official Jarred Gillett told the referee: "It's an own goal and the accidental handball isn't punishable, so we recommend awarding the goal." The key was that once the ball deflected off Greaves, Maguire was no longer the one who put it in the net, and his handball, ruled accidental, was legally rendered irrelevant. Ipswich may feel hard done by, but the decision holds up under the rulebook.

Aston Villa: the new "high bar" standard also comes with a cost

In Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal on August 31, in the 90+9th minute, Bruno Guimaraes appealed for a penalty after being taken down from behind by Ian Maatsen inside the box. Referee Jarred Gillett waved play on, and VAR official James Bell applied the new "high bar" standard for intervention: only a clear and obvious error should be corrected, and in this case it was judged that there wasn't one. A review of the footage disagrees: Maatsen's challenge, from behind and with no chance of playing the ball, did meet the threshold for a foul, and a monitor review was even expected but never came. Arsenal won anyway, which softens the controversy, but the precedent remains.

Liverpool escape in Newcastle thanks to a correctly given penalty

Closing out the list is Newcastle United 2-2 Liverpool on August 23, with a penalty awarded to the visitors in the 90+6th minute for a challenge by Lewis Hall on Victor Muñoz. Referee Stuart Attwell was emphatic: "He doesn't play the ball. There's clear contact." VAR official James Bell summed it up this way: "It's knee-to-thigh contact. We're confirming the on-field decision of a penalty." There's no debate here: Hall arrived late with no realistic chance of clearing the ball, so the penalty call was correct, however bitter it feels in Newcastle after letting a win slip at the death.

It's knee-to-thigh contact. We're confirming the on-field decision of a penalty.James Bell (VAR)