by Former referee Dermot Gallagher was given plenty of analysis from last weekend’s Nottingham Forest match on his own in the latest installment of Sky Sports’ Ref Watch.
The post-match official-turned-pundit was asked for his thoughts on the events that took place at Goodison Park on Sunday – and indeed afterwards – after Forest were apparently denied three penalties. The club itself, manager Nuno Espirito Santo, defender Neco Williams and adviser Mark Clattenburg later expressed their grievances due to heavy backing from the world of football.
In relation to those actions that took place, both the Premier League and the Football Association opened investigations into the matter and penalties could be imposed for any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, watchmen such as Gary Neville and Alan Shearer have issued explosive responses of their own.
READ MORE: Mark Clattenburg faces backlash from ex-teammates furious over Nottingham Forest rant
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest demand Premier League rule change as VAR ‘sideshow’ fears rise
In a quieter environment, to begin with, Gallagher prompted an expert opinion on the three individual incidents involving the Toffees’ Ashley Young. How much did he think the officers were right?
Penalty incident 1 – Ashley Young on Giovanni Reyna
“I don’t think so. The referee has the perfect view. There is contact but obviously not all contact is foul. There is very little contact and the referee has the best view,” says Gallagher.
“What you would say is when the referee looks at it and says no, the VAR will never intervene.”
As he pushed Young’s kick through the Forest attacker to win the ball, he said: “He makes contact, no doubt about that, but you have to be very careful that we don’t sanitize the game – that every piece is . physical contact becomes dirty.”
Pressed for a second time, Gallagher ended frustratingly: “You’ve asked me twice before, I can’t tell you any more. I think there’s a touch, there’s no doubt about that, but I don’t think it’s enough .give punishment.
“Over the last three or four weeks, we’ve seen a bit of a change as far as physical contact. There was a higher threshold, which I think is better. Earlier in the season the tolerance level was too low – there were penalties. since people were like ‘is that enough?’
“I think as the referees have got used to it, they have gone, people are happy with this, people are not happy with this’, and I think we are in a better place. That is in line with what we have. ” ‘seen in the last month, sure.”
Penalty incident 2 – Handball by Ashley Young
Gallagher believes: “It’s the hardest call, I think. Is his hand there because he’s running? Is he too close? All sorts of things [to consider].
“I think he would be treated very harshly if he was given a penalty like that, but that being said we’ve seen it – certainly in the SPL [Scottish Premier League] – everything is given that way. In the Premier League the referee doesn’t think, he thinks it’s too close, he thinks he’s running in a natural position.
“I think it’s a decision that could have gone either way.”
Penalty incident 3 – Ashley Young on Callum Hudson-Odoi
“I think this is a penalty and I think this is a penalty for a couple of reasons,” Gallagher explains.
“Firstly, the defender has the wrong side of the forward. Secondly, if you really look at the referee he signals that the defender plays the ball – well, he doesn’t play the ball, that’s a certainty.
“I wonder, on that basis, if it has been communicated to everyone that he played the ball, can the VAR say ‘he didn’t play the ball, go and look at this’. If he goes to the screen he could hold it down, he could say ‘there’s not enough there’.
“I get that, and I think we’d be happier if he went to the screen and rated it – even if he doesn’t say it – than to look at that and say he’s got that ball.”
Asked whether Premier League officials have become too lenient in their application to VAR, he replied: “I think the VAR thought it wasn’t a penalty, it wasn’t a clear and obvious error, but the referee is the tip for me. he makes it clear that he has the ball He won’t get that ball.
“In my mind, if the referee told me he had the ball and I saw he didn’t get the ball, I would say to the referee ‘well look, you might want to watch this because he doesn’t have it’. t get the ball as you think – go and see it’. and it shows that it is not.”
Forest and Mark Clattenburg criticize the appointment of Stuart Atwell as VAR
In defense of VAR on Sunday, Gallagher replied: “We all had to get it right from the start. It obviously works because the referees are put on games week in week out. It’s only noticeable today. because of the three penalty shouts yesterday.
“It’s not easy to put 10 referees, 20 assistants, 10 VARs – there are so many mechanics. Where were you last week? How did you perform? It’s a complicated mechanism but it works.
“What I do know is that Stuart Attwell is one of the VARs used week in and week out in the Champions League. He has to be seen as an integral part of the system.
“You don’t do that if you’re not capable and you regularly make mistakes. People can question his decision but it’s not right to question his integrity.”
