Nottingham Forest were left frustrated after their goal against Tottenham was ruled out, and former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has now backed the Reds’ view of the incident.
Nottingham Forest appeared to take the lead at the City Ground when Neco Williams bundled the ball over the line. Referee Craig Pawson initially allowed the goal to stand, but VAR checked the incident and decided Williams had handled the ball immediately before scoring.
The decision was then overturned, leaving Forest without a goal as the game eventually finished 0-0.
Neco Williams was far from convinced by the call.
“It’s a goal,” Williams told Sky Sports. “VAR is there when there is a clear and obvious error and for me that is not clear and obvious. I’ve seen the images and the replays and at not one moment did I think I handballed it.”
The Forest defender was certain about what had happened.
“I headed it in between my arms. I knew straight away I’ve headed it down in between my arms. At a loss at that one. Disappointing.”
Mark Halsey says VAR had no clear evidence
Halsey has now reached much the same conclusion after reviewing the footage himself.
The former Premier League official explained that Pawson had initially judged the goal to be legal, before VAR advised him to overturn that decision because of a suspected accidental handball.
For Halsey, that evidence wasn’t strong enough.
“It’s inconclusive, I’ve looked at it and I’ve looked at it. I cannot tell whether he brushes his arm or it does not, so VAR have to be 100%, that the referee has made an on-field error – a clear and obvious error.”
That is the key part of Halsey’s argument. He isn’t saying with certainty that the ball didn’t touch Williams’ arm. Instead, he believes the available footage doesn’t clearly prove that it did.
And, in that situation, he doesn’t think VAR should have stepped in.
“And, in my opinion, it’s inconclusive and I think Forest can feel well hard done by with that goal being disallowed for an accidental handball.”
The sequence itself was messy. Morgan Gibbs-White’s effort was deflected by the Tottenham goalkeeper, Sandro Tonali then failed to clear and Neco Williams was involved in the scramble that eventually sent the ball into the net.
Premier League’s official explanation
“VAR checked the referee’s call of goal to Nottingham Forest – and determined that Williams handled the ball immediately before scoring and recommended that the goal was disallowed,” the Premier League’s official match centre posted.
Pawson then confirmed the reasoning behind the decision.
“After review, the ball touches the hand of Nottingham Forest No.3 before the goal is scored. The final decision is a direct free-kick for Spurs.”
Forest will naturally look at the incident differently, especially after Williams’ comments and now Halsey’s assessment.
The eventual 0-0 draw gave Tottenham their first point of the season after defeats to Brentford and Newcastle. Forest, meanwhile, will probably feel they had a chance to take all three points had the goal been allowed to stand.
Halsey’s verdict won’t change the result, but it adds another question to the growing discontent over inconsistent VAR decisions.
