Ref Watch: Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo received deserved red card, Trent Alexander-Arnold lucky to escape punishment? | Football News

Dermot Gallagher dissects the big refereeing flashpoints from the weekend’s Premier League action.

Nottingham Forest 2-2 Brentford

INCIDENT: Brentford awarded penalty, via VAR review, when Dean Henderson brought down Yoane Wissa

VERDICT: Wrong decision.

DERMOT SAYS: If you look at Wissa, his feet are off the ground and there is minimal contact. We’ve talked about minimal contact this season, it’s a higher bar, a higher threshold. The referee called it right on the field. He was then sent to the monitor unnecessarily.

Stephen Warnock: Zero [chance of it being a penalty].

Sue Smith: Zero. It wasn’t a pen.

INCIDENT: Emmanuel Dennis appealed for a penalty after coming together with Mathias Jensen

VERDICT: Correct decision.

DERMOT SAYS: It’s not a penalty for me. It should have been turned down.

INCIDENT: An altercation between Brentford’s goalkeeping coach and Nottingham Forest ground staff during warm-ups

DERMOT SAYS: The ideal thing is for the referee not to have to get involved. The Premier League protocol is that you ask the players not to having shooting practice in the goalmouth prior to the game. That’s what the portable goals are there for. That’s what started the disagreement.

Aston Villa 3-1 Man United

INCIDENT: Cristiano Ronaldo and Tyrone Mings clashed in the Aston Villa penalty box – checked by VAR for ‘serious foul play’, but only yellow cards awarded

VERDICT: Correct decision.

DERMOT SAYS: There are three outcomes. Do nothing, yellow card – which they did – or red card. You can’t do nothing because it’s not possible to say it didn’t happen. Is it the top end of the scale? No, there were no punches thrown. There is just a lot of grappling. They ultimately came to the right decision.

The ball had gone dead. The VAR is checking for violent conduct, that is all it can do. It cannot check for yellow cards, that is up to the referee.

Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool

INCIDENT: Trent Alexander-Arnold challenged Ryan Sessegnon in the Liverpool box

VERDICT: Difficult to judge, but correct decision.

DERMOT SAYS: I think this is a little nudge, a little lean, but certainly not a barge. I’d have been very surprised if they had come to the conclusion of penalty.

Sue Smith: Different angles show different things. When I first saw it I didn’t think it was a penalty. I thought there was minimal contact. But there’s that angle where it does look like a shove. When you’re running at full pace.

Stephen Warnock: I don’t think it was a penalty.

Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal

INCIDENT: Marc Cucurella survived handball appeals after ball appeared to strike his arm

VERDICT: Correct decision because they could not be certain the handball took place inside the box.

DERMOT SAYS: You see where he is. The ball does hit him, there is no doubt about that. That is the decision – they couldn’t be certain he was inside. So you err on the side of caution.

Stephen Warnock: If the feet are inside the box, but the handball is outside the box, that’s what you have to take into consideration.

Man City 2-1 Fulham

INCIDENT: Joao Cancelo was sent off for a foul on Harry Wilson, conceding a penalty in the process

VERDICT: Correct decision on both counts.

DERMOT SAYS: The first decision, is it a foul? Well it is a foul. He [Cancelo] knows he has got to stop the player and he goes into him. The second thing, does it deny a goalscoring opportunity? Well he [Wilson] has got the ball at his feet, if he isn’t fouled he has got a shot at goal.

INCIDENT: Penalty awarded to Kevin De Bruyne after he was clipped by Antonee Robinson

VERDICT: Correct decision.

DERMOT SAYS: The referee is in a good position. He gives it. It’s given on-field. Does he get the ball? No. Does he catch his ankle? Yes. Clumsy, but the referee gives it. That’s the key thing here, it’s not thrown to VAR. Referees have slightly different tolerance levels.

Stephen Warnock: There’s theatrics from De Bruyne. How does it go from being a tap on the ankle to throwing yourself to the ground. I’m looking at it thinking ‘no’. There is contact on the ankle.

Sue Smith: Kevin De Bruyne is very clever. He feels the contact and goes down. That’s the frustration, in terms of inconsistency. Because if you’re a Forest fan and you see that you’re thinking ‘how on earth have we not going a penalty?’ The foul on Emmanuel Dennis was very similar.