‘What VAR is for’- ex-Premier League referee reacts to Chelsea and Newcastle United penalty appeals

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Simon Hooper missed a clear and obvious foul on Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes but insists that the incident was not a penalty.

Guimaraes was involved in a penalty appeal when he was tripped just outside the penalty area by Chelsea’s Levi Colwill in an incident which denied the Brazilian international a clear one on one opportunity to score past Robert Sanchez. The incident took place just 15 minutes into the match and could have potentially seen the Magpies take an early lead.

VAR did not intervene with the incident as it took place outside the box, but Gallagher claims that the referee should have awarded a free kick and a yellow card.

He told Sky Sports News on Ref Watch: “It's outside the box! I think he's missed a foul, it's a foul and a yellow card. It's not a red, there's players around and the ball is going the wrong way. But it is a foul.”

Guimaraes admitted after the game that he was frustrated with the decision and believes that the referee should have checked the incident and at the very minimum awarded a free kick and a yellow card to Colwill.

“Of course, of course - it is a clear foul,” The Newcastle skipper said. “My point of view is they should have at least checked because for me it was a chance to go one on one. Maybe it was a red card and the same player after got another yellow card so he would be sent off.”

Hoope ultimately had a busy afternoon in what proved to be a highly competitive contest. Chelsea looked to be on course to take a 3-1 lead in the final moments of the game when Christopher Nkunku was brought down inside the penalty area in what at first glance appeared to be a foul by Dan Burn.

The Newcastle players rushed over to appeal the referee’s penalty decision, and after a long check with VAR the referee opted to overturn his decision to award Chelsea a late spot kick as he saw minimal contact from Burn on the Frenchman.

Gallagher praised the referee’s judgement and the VAR team for raising awareness of the incident.

“This is exactly what VAR's for. I didn't think it was a penalty at the time, it's not a penalty now.” Gallagher said.

“It was a good recommendation from Jarred Gillett to send him to the screen, and Simon Hooper's looked at it with a blank canvas and said he's got it wrong. It's VAR working perfectly.”