Arsenal ‘wrongly escaped’ penalty in Brighton win according to KMI Panel

Arsenal should have conceded a penalty in their 1-0 victory over Brighton in March, according to the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel.

The ruling marks the second time this season the Gunners have wrongly escaped a VAR penalty decision in a game they won by one goal.

The incident

Brighton were trailing to Bukayo Saka’s ninth-minute opener when the controversial moment occurred in the third minute of first-half stoppage time. After a cross was delivered from the left, Brighton midfielder Mats Wieffer attempted to run into the box towards the flight of the ball but was hauled to the ground by Gabriel Martinelli.

Referee Chris Kavanagh allowed play to continue and the incident was cleared by VAR official Michael Salisbury. At the time, the Premier League Match Centre stated that VAR “deemed there was no clear and obvious error.”

However, according to the BBC, the KMI Panel has now voted 4:1 that a spot-kick should have been awarded on the field, and 3:2 that it was a missed VAR intervention.

“Martinelli is not looking at the ball, holds Weiffer into the area and prevents the Brighton player from challenging for the ball,”

the ruling stated.

Pattern of decisions

This represents part of a concerning pattern for Arsenal’s opponents this season. In December, Everton should have been awarded a penalty for William Saliba’s challenge on Thierno Barry – with Michael Salisbury again serving as the VAR official.

More recently, the KMI Panel unanimously ruled that Chelsea should have been given a penalty against Arsenal for handball by Declan Rice in their 2-1 defeat. Rice moved his arm to deflect the ball following a corner in the 45th minute, though the panel voted 4:1 that it did not reach the threshold for VAR intervention.

The report notes that Arsenal have had no VAR mistakes against them this season, while there have now been 18 VAR errors logged across the campaign, matching the total for the entire 2023-24 season.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler was visibly frustrated at the time, complaining to fourth official David Webb and exchanging words with Mikel Arteta on the touchline during the match.

Arsenal currently sit second in the Premier League table, with these marginal decisions potentially proving significant in what remains a tight title race. The Gunners will be hoping future officiating decisions don’t overshadow their on-field performances as the season progresses.