The video assistant referee raises controversy every week in the English Premier League, but how are decisions made and are they correct?
This season, we take a look at major events to examine and explain the process in relation to the VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.
Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons in the elite squad, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at elite level, he has worked in the field of VAR in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationales and protocols that are introduced on a Premier League match day.
Judgment: Darren England
Assistant referee: Aqeel Hawson
our: Tim Robinson
incident: A corner kick awarded after the ball leaves the field of play
time: 33 minutes
What happened: Nottingham Forest defender Nicolo Savona made a clear header from Brian Mbeumo’s cross. As the ball moved towards the corner flag and appeared to be out of play, Savona appeared to have set up enough space to retain possession. However, assistant referee Howson disagreed, and awarded a corner kick for United from the other side of the pitch, much to the dismay of Forest players and supporters at that end of the City Ground. The resulting corner kick, almost inevitably, ended with the ball into the back of Forest’s net, with United’s Casemiro scoring from a header.
Forest fans were furious after Manchester United scored a corner kick after this ball was ruled out of play 👀
Right call? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/pbXV960SSS
– CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 1, 2025
Review the decision: Law 9 of the game states that the ball is out of play “when it has completely crossed the goal line/touchline.” A ball being out of play must be judged on factual information, and unfortunately on this occasion, footage confirms that it was indeed still in play. Furthermore, the assistant’s decision was made from the other side of the field, and his view was partially obstructed by the goalposts and the bodies of the players.
our: This is an area that VAR cannot review under current protocols. Forest will feel aggrieved, given they have had two incorrect corner kicks against them in as many weeks, leading to goals being scored against. In my opinion though, the corner kick awarded against them last weekend in Bournemouth was an understandable misreading of the situation in real time.
At the last meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), it was decided not to introduce potential VAR reviews of incorrectly awarded corner kicks that resulted in a goal being scored. So, for now, Forest boss Sean Dyche’s frustration over the incident will go unheard.
Judgment: If Casemiro had not scored from the resulting corner, this moment would have been forgotten. But assistant referee Howson clearly did not have specific information to make the decision, given the positional conditions of both the ball and himself. The decision to have the ball go out of play should be a realistic decision by any match referee, and there was no need for Howson to enforce this for many reasons. In decisions that require complete factual information that is not currently available, the advice is to do nothing.
