The Premier League's Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel has unanimously ruled that referee John Brooks made an incorrect decision by awarding Sunderland a penalty against Arsenal. However, a majority of the panel supported the Video Assistant Referee's (VAR) choice not to intervene in the incident.
The controversy stems from the September 12 fixture between the two clubs. In the 54th minute, referee John Brooks pointed to the spot, penalizing Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa for holding Sunderland's Dan Ballard inside the penalty box following a corner kick.
Despite the call, Sunderland failed to convert the opportunity as Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya saved Enzo Le Fée's penalty attempt. Arsenal eventually secured a 2-0 victory. Following the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta voiced strong dissatisfaction with the decision, prompting the club to seek clarification from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
In its review published on Wednesday, the five-member KMI panel unanimously agreed that the on-field penalty decision was wrong. The panel noted that while Konsa initially held Ballard, Ballard simultaneously pulled Konsa, resulting in both players falling to the ground. Given the mutual nature of the challenge, the panel concluded no punishable offense had occurred.
Despite agreeing the decision was incorrect on the field, three of the five panel members deemed VAR's non-intervention appropriate, reasoning that the call did not meet the threshold of a clear and obvious error required for VAR correction.
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Reported by Sports deak • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
