Panel backs VAR over Newcastle penalty claim at Chelsea
- Published
Newcastle United should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-0 win at Chelsea on 14 March, but it did not reach the threshold for a VAR intervention.
The Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel voted 4:1 that referee Paul Tierney should have pointed to the spot after Reece James held back Malick Thiaw.
However, it unanimously said that the VAR, Michael Salisbury, was right not to step in and tell the referee he had made a clear and obvious error.
The incident happened in the 34th minute with Newcastle already in the lead.
The KMI Panel noted that "James gets caught the wrong side and maintains contact".
It added that while both players were holding, "on balance the action of James was non-footballing and impactful".
