Webb admits VAR error in disallowed Fulham goal at Chelsea

LONDON: Referees’ chief Howard Webb has admitted that Fulham were wronged in their 2-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea last weekend, after Josh King’s goal was disallowed following a VAR intervention.

The 18-year-old midfielder thought he had levelled the score, but his strike was chalked off when VAR ruled Rodrigo Muniz had stepped on Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah’s foot in the build-up. Fulham manager Marco Silva branded the decision “unbelievable,” voicing his frustration after the match.

Speaking on the Match Officials Mic’d Up programme on Tuesday, Webb conceded that the decision should have stood. “It wasn’t controversial, it was wrong,” he said. “The officials got super focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened.”

Webb explained that VAR guidelines set a high threshold for penalising contact and for intervening in such moments, standards that were not followed in this case. As a result of the error, VAR official Michael Salisbury was stood down from his next Premier League assignment, Liverpool’s clash with Arsenal.

The incident has reignited debate over VAR’s consistency and its impact on the rhythm of games in the Premier League.