Referee Sam Barrott had a mare at Eberechi Eze’s expense (Photo: Sky Sports/Getty)
VAR were not allowed to overturn Eberechi Eze’s sensational strike for Crystal Palace against Brentford, the Premier League has explained.
England star Eze thought he had given Palace the lead at the G-tech Community Stadium on Sunday, when his free-kick deceived goalkeeper Mark Flekken and rocketed into the back of the net.
However, referee Sam Barrott, making his Premier League debut, instantly disallowed the wonder goal after Will Hughes appeared to foul Nathan Collins in the wall.
But given that the foul, which was soft at best, had no bearing on the goal, many felt VAR should have overturned the on-field decision, but after a brief check Barrott’s call stood.
Palace boss Oliver Glasner was visibly furious on the touchline and his anger only grew as just minutes later Brentford scored courtesy of Bryan Mbeumo.
The Eagles equalised in the second-half thanks to an Ethan Pinnock own goal and found the back of the net again soon after, but Odsonne Edouard’s strike was ruled out for a narrow offside.
Yoanne Wissa scored late on to give the Bees a 2-1 win, with the disallowed goal remaining a huge point of contention.
However, Premier League Match Centre later tweeted to explain that Barrott’s decision could not actually be overturned even if VAR deemed it should have been.
‘The referee awards a free-kick to Brentford for a foul by Hughes on Collins,’ they said.
‘The whistle was blown before the ball entered the goal, so VAR cannot intervene and the referee’s call stands.’
Barrott’s decision to stop play so quickly was panned by Liverpool icon Jamie Redknapp, who said on Sky Sports: ‘The referee has had a nightmare.
‘It is a monumental mistake, he should just let it breathe. I am not even sure it is a foul, I feel so sorry for Eze as this is genius what he does.
‘The referee is trying to get too involved, just let the game breathe, it is a brilliant, brilliant piece of play and he could have blown after if he had wanted to, but to do out so quickly…
‘I really feel so sorry for Eze as it was a brilliant, brilliant goal.’
Eze himself later revealed that Barrott admitted he had got it wrong, telling Sky Sports: ‘The referee said he blew too early and he made a mistake.
‘Fair enough, he made a mistake. As he said, it’s a mistake. Listen, we had so many chances to score, especially me. We move on to the next one.’
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