Why Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty against Hull despite Kai Havertz being offside

Arsenal were denied a penalty against Hull City on Saturday after VAR ruled Kai Havertz offside before he was hauled down by Nobel Mendy. Home fans briefly celebrated when referee Farai Hallam first announced the foul, but Hull were instead awarded a free kick, leaving Mikel Arteta fuming on the touchline during a tense first half at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal denied penalty after lengthy VAR review against Hull

Arsenal were on top for much of the first half and thought they had a chance to score from 12 yards when Havertz went down in the box under a challenge from Mendy. Play continued, but the incident was assessed by VAR for a number of minutes before Hallam was advised to consult the pitchside monitor.

The VAR told the referee that Mendy had clearly held the striker’s shirt, but that Havertz was offside at the time, so the foul could not be given.

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When Hallam announced the decision, he spoke of the foul by the Hull centre-back first, and the home faithful cheered the penalty they thought was coming. Their delight turned to disappointment in the blink of an eye when he explained that Hull would instead take a free kick for offside.

A Premier League statement read: “VAR recommended an on-field review for a potential penalty to Arsenal for a challenge by Mendy on Havertz – but determined that Havertz was in an offside position in the build-up.” The call sparked outrage among the Arsenal players and on the bench, with Arteta having stern words with the fourth official before the teams went in goalless at the break.
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It soon emerged that the rules were on Arsenal’s side. BBC Sport’s football issues correspondent Dale Johnson said: “That is a very controversial VAR intervention at the Emirates. A player who is in an offside position only becomes active when they commit an offside offence. Kai Havertz must be ‘attempting to play the ball, or challenging an opponent for the ball’ – otherwise the shirt pull by Nobel Mendy takes precedence. The foul comes before any offside offence.

“Havertz did not commit an offside offence, and this should have been a spot-kick to Arsenal regardless of the offside. We saw this a couple of seasons ago between Newcastle and Bournemouth. Fabian Schar was just offside but pulled back as he moved to run onto a free-kick delivery. A penalty was awarded after a VAR review.”