Michael Owen and PGMOL chief analyse these two Newcastle United penalty decisions | OneFootball

Michael Owen and PGMOL boss Howard Webb have been discussing two big moments in recent Newcastle United matches.

Penalty decisions when United were up against Ipswich Town and Brighton.

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.

Premier League report on Howard Webb looking at these two decisions that affected Newcastle United:

Incident:

Newcastle winger Jacob Murphy goes to ground in the penalty area running after the ball after being pulled back by Ipswich Town’s Julio Enciso on the shoulder.

What the match officials did:

Referee Michael Salisbury initially turns down Newcastle’s appeals for a penalty. The VAR sends Salisbury to review the incident in the RRA. After review Salisbury changes the on-field decision and awards a penalty to Newcastle.

Michael Owen:

“So quite clear the arm tugs the shoulder. Are you happy that meets the criteria for an on-field review?”

Howard Webb:

“Yeah, we thought this was a good one. We’ve seen some situations which are much more debatable, where the VAR stayed out, where there’s contact, where players are either mutually holding or there’s a small touch, but it’s not really impactful and there’s an exaggeration by the attacker.

“For example, in this situation, as the ball’s played into the penalty area, the Newcastle player, Murphy, has got position on Enciso’s got no chance of getting that ball and maybe instinctively reaches out, grabs Murphy’s shoulder. You can see it spins him, prevents him from moving on to the ball.

“The VAR does a really good job of checking different angles to ensure that contact continues into the penalty area. And we always penalise where a holding offence ends, in this case a penalty kick. So we thought it was sustained. We thought it was impactful. We thought it was a clear penalty kick and there were no considerations for us not to get involved.

“The VAR goes through certain considerations. If there’s a mix of considerations, we’ll stay out.”

Newcastle’s overturned (Joe Willock) penalty v Brighton

Incident:

Newcastle are awarded a penalty after Joe Willock goes down following a challenge from Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke.

What the match officials did:

Referee Craig Pawson awards a spot-kick to Newcastle. The VAR reviews the incident and deems Van Hecke to have made minimal contact that was not sufficient for a penalty. Willock is cautioned for simulation.

Michael Owen:

“I think this is a great clip in terms of what VAR is here for. Not only do they get the decision right, and I can almost have a little bit of sympathy for the referee, but there’s a man in between the challenge. When I first saw it, I thought it looks like a penalty. And not only that, but a yellow card for simulation. So the whole chain of events looked like it worked there.”

Howard Webb:

“When you watch the clip, you can see that the referee is desperately trying to get that in-between view. The view between Van Hecke and Willock, which is really useful in understanding if there’s contact and if there is who creates the contact, and he gets his view blocked by another Brighton defender.

“And that’s obviously problematic for him, because then he’s making a decision without having that clear view that you’re seeking so desperately.

“And he thinks he’s seen enough to give a penalty as Van Hecke goes to ground. It’s always risky when you go to ground, he gives the penalty.

“The VAR obviously checks all penalties and you’re right, I think people really like this use of VAR to not only overturn the incorrectly awarded penalty, which is a big moment in the game, but also to quite rightly give a yellow card to the player that’s gone to ground without contact.