Arsenal have received confirmation that Sunderland should not have been awarded a penalty during the Gunners’ 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel has unanimously ruled that the decision to penalise Ezri Konsa for his challenge on Dan Ballard during Sunderland vs Arsenal was incorrect.
David Raya ultimately ensured the controversial decision did not affect the result by saving Enzo Le Fée’s spot-kick with the game still goalless.
Bruno Guimarães scored only two minutes later before Bukayo Saka’s stoppage-time penalty completed Arsenal’s 2-0 victory.
Sunderland vs Arsenal penalty ruled incorrect
The Premier League’s official KMI panel findings confirmed that all five members voted against the original decision to award Sunderland a penalty.
The incident occurred in the 54th minute when Konsa and Ballard came together inside the Arsenal penalty area.
However, there is an important distinction between the panel’s verdict on referee John Brooks’ initial decision and VAR Stuart Attwell’s subsequent handling of the incident.
While the penalty itself was judged incorrect by a unanimous 5-0 vote, the panel voted 3-2 that VAR was right not to recommend an on-field review.
The Premier League explained that its threshold for VAR intervention remains high and that the majority of the panel did not consider the original decision to represent a clear and obvious error.
That means Arsenal were on the wrong end of the initial call, but VAR was not considered to have made an error by allowing it to stand.
Mikel Arteta criticism now backed by panel
Mikel Arteta made his frustration clear immediately after Arsenal’s victory.
ReadArsenal previously covered how the Arsenal manager criticised the Sunderland penalty decision despite Raya ensuring it did not cost his side.
The goalkeeper’s save proved pivotal. ReadArsenal’s Sunderland 0-2 Arsenal match report details how Guimarães then struck almost immediately at the other end to completely change the contest.
The latest verdict also continues the increased scrutiny provided by the KMI panel this season.
Arsenal were involved in another reviewed incident against Chelsea earlier this month, when the panel unanimously backed the decision not to send Gabriel off.
This time, the assessment has gone against the original referee decision and provides official support for Arteta’s complaints after the trip to Sunderland.
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