The Premier League has clarified the contentious decision to disallow a potential winning goal for Southampton in the heated 1-1 draw with Brighton on Friday. Cameron Archer appeared to have put the Saints ahead 2-1 in the 67th minute, following Flynn Downes' equaliser which cancelled out Kaoru Mitoma's opening goal for the home side.
Although Archer was onside when Ryan Fraser passed the ball, an action by Adam Armstrong, who was offside, was deemed critical and sparked debate. The Premier League explained via their Match Centre X account: "The referee's call of no goal was checked and confirmed by the VAR as Armstrong was in an offside position and deemed to be impacting [Brighton goalkeeper Bart] Verbruggen's ability to play the ball."
The lengthy VAR review, taking four minutes and 27 seconds to uphold the offside ruling, left fans frustrated.
Injured Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale expressed his disbelief on social media, posting: "You cannot be serious."
A significant 10 minutes of stoppage time were added as Southampton, eager for only their second victory of the season, pressed on. Mitoma had earlier given Brighton the lead with a header in the 29th minute, as Russell Martin's team braced for another challenging evening.
However, Southampton's performance improved after the half-time break, with Downes equalising just before the hour mark with a powerful strike following an impressive move from back to front. As Martin's men gained confidence, Brighton found it difficult to regain control of the match.
The tension escalated on the touchline, resulting in the Southampton manager and one of his assistants being shown a yellow card. Fraser's introduction from the bench gave the Saints an added boost, and his well-timed pass found Archer on the counter-attack.
The former Aston Villa player believed he had put the visitors ahead until a four-minute VAR check dashed his hopes.
Brighton appeared more threatening during extra time, with Simon Adingra nearly scoring the winning goal, his first-time shot deflecting onto the side of the far post and out for a corner.
Both teams had to settle for a draw when the final whistle blew, pushing Brighton up to second place in the table. However, Southampton remain at the bottom after their challenging start.
The Saints' next match is against Chelsea at St Mary's, while Brighton will travel to Fulham.