Former Referee Dermot Gallagher Discusses VAR Decisions in Premier League, Scottish Premiership, and Championship Playoffs
In this week’s Football News, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher dissects the key refereeing decisions and VAR controversies from the recent action across the top leagues.
Starting with the Premier League, Gallagher analyzes the disallowed goal and penalty decisions from Bournemouth’s 1-2 loss against Brentford. He explains the VAR’s rationale behind ruling out Dominic Solanke’s goal for handball, while also discussing the incident where the referee blew the whistle before Solanke scored. Regarding the overturned penalty for Brentford, Gallagher agrees with the VAR’s verdict that it was not a spot-kick.
Turning to the title race, Gallagher believes Manchester City were rightly awarded a penalty and Issa Diop deserved to be sent off for his foul on Julian Alvarez in the 4-0 win over Fulham. He also clarifies the VAR’s decision-making process around Josko Gvardiol’s second goal for City.
The focus then shifts to the Old Firm derby, where Gallagher praises the VAR’s intervention to upgrade John Lundstram’s yellow card to a red for his challenge on Alistair Johnston. He also agrees with the penalty awarded to Celtic, stating that the lengthy VAR check was justified to ensure the correct decision.
Moving to the Championship playoffs, Gallagher discusses the incidents involving Leeds United, analyzing why the penalty claim against Norwich was unlikely to be given and explaining the offside decision that ruled out a Leeds goal.
With the high-profile Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight title fight on the horizon, the article concludes by providing details on how readers can book the event on Sky Sports Box Office.
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