Howard Webb dissects key decision in Newcastle United match | OneFootball

Howard Webb, PGMOL and the Premier League have opened up discussions between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for key incidents this season.

In this latest instalment of “Match Officials Mic’d Up” in 2024/25, Howard Webb, chief operating officer at PGMOL, the organisation that oversees the League’s match officials, has discussed a number of recent incidents.

The idea is to go through the conversations between the match officials to give fans a greater knowledge of how decisions are made.

The officials on the pitch do not hear all the conversations from the VAR hub in Stockley Park.

Amongst the recent incidents that Howard Webb has dissected, is one key one involving Newcastle United.

Sky Sports report on Howard Webb looking at the Jhon Duran red card on Boxing Day, Newcastle hammering Villa 3-0 in that game  – 7 January 2025:

Jhon Duran was shown a straight red card by Taylor after he was deemed to have deliberately stood on Schar.

What the officials said

Referee Taylor: “Tackle…”

4th official: “It looks accidental from here.”

Assistant Referee Two: “So Duran steps on the back. For me, it’s a reckless act rather than anything more. He’s sort of trying to stop and then lands in the wrong place.”

Referee Taylor: “Ok…”

Assistant Referee Two: “So, Duran caution.”

Referee Taylor: “Hang on, he [Schar] is holding somewhere else here [on his body].

Assistant Referee One: “He is holding between his legs.”

Referee Taylor: “I’m going red card.”

VAR: “Ok, we’ve got a red card on-field.”

Referee Taylor presents the red card and says: “Nowhere near the ball.”

VAR: “Checking the on-field decision of red card. Ok, so there’s a clear action of the studs, raking studs, across the back.”

Referee Taylor, speaking to the players: “If it’s wrong I’ll change it, ok?”

VAR: “Ok, show me that once more? We’ve got raking studs through the glute and up the back.”

Replay Operator: “I can show you a wider angle if you want?”

VAR: “Please…”

Referee Taylor, speaking to players: “He’s nowhere near the ball and he’s put his studs in him.”

VAR takes ten seconds looking at the wider angle and says: “I’m happy. Tayls, confirming on-field decision of red card. Check complete.”

Webb’s verdict: The referee was best placed to see the incident

PGMOL chief Howard Webb:

“You can hear on the comms a range of opinions. The fourth official makes a comment based on what he’s seen, the assistant referee suggests it might be a yellow card. But the best placed match official by a long way is the referee, who is right behind the situation.

“He sees Fabian Schar make that clean tackle – and then Duran takes a few steps and then moves his right leg across from right to left and onto the back of Schar, who is on the floor. He deemed that to be a deliberate action by Duran and one of violent conduct.

“It’s always hard to read players’ minds, you have to judge the actions that we see, the physical evidence to make our judgements. And in this situation, the referee saw the action, felt it was a red card offence.

“And the VAR saw the movement of that leg onto the back of Schar and didn’t feel that the on-field referee’s call was obviously wrong – he probably agreed with it – and it stayed as an on-field call as a red card.

“You need a level of certainty to send a player off, the referee had that. He’s got a great view of that, he would have seen a dynamic motion when the two players are going through and challenging for the ball.

“Then he sees to him, what he felt was the right leg coming from out to in, going somewhere else, it could have continued going past the player or to the left or right of the player.