Arsenal intends to contact Pro Ref, the body overseeing English football referees, regarding a penalty awarded to Sunderland after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review during Saturday's match. The club's manager, Mikel Arteta, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the decision, deeming it "unacceptable at this level."
Arteta was particularly critical of the foul called against defender Ezri Konsa for a tangle with Sunderland's Dan Ballard. He argued that Ballard initiated the contact, describing it as a "judo roll" that created the illusion of a foul. Referee John Brooks initially awarded the penalty, a decision subsequently upheld by VAR.
The controversy arose despite the penalty ultimately being saved by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, and Arsenal went on to win the match 2-0. Arteta was visibly incensed by the call, receiving a booking for leaving his technical area.
"This can change the course of the season, the championship," Arteta stated in his post-match interview. "I've watched it 10 times to make sure. The 27 years I've been in football, it's not a penalty in any case, in any context, at any level, in any league."
He further elaborated, "I watched it live, and I thought it was not possible to make this kind of decision for a penalty, because it's a judo roll, that's what it is. It cannot happen. How can this be a penalty? I don’t know. I cannot find an explanation, honestly. That’s why I’m going to try to find an explanation now."
Arteta expressed frustration that the focus was shifted from his team's performance to officiating errors. "I want to talk about the game, how good we were, how good Sunderland was, and the level of the league, and how beautiful this is. We should never be talking about this."
Arsenal's planned inquiry follows a separate incident where Pro Ref reportedly apologized to Manchester United for an erroneous VAR call during their derby match against Manchester City, which allowed Erling Haaland's goal to stand.
Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring for Arsenal shortly after the controversial penalty was awarded and saved. Bukayo Saka later converted a penalty in added time after Reinildo Mandava was sent off for pulling Saka's shirt.