The Professional Game Match Officials Limited insist Howard Webb had no input on the VAR review that saw William Saliba sent off.
A ten-man Arsenal side suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday after the defender was given a straight red card on the 30 minute mark.
Webb was shown on his phone during the VAR reviewPremier League
The Frenchman was originally given a yellow card after bringing Cherries man Evanilson down as he went towards goal near the halfway line.
Referee Robert Jones was then advised by VAR Jarred Gillett to go to the monitor to review the decision, leading Jones to scrap the yellow card and dish out a red to a horrified Saliba.
This was because the 23-year-old was judged to have been the last man and also denied Bournemouth a goalscoring opportunity.
During the review, Sky Sports cameras panned to PGMOL chief Webb sat in the stands at the Vitality just as the decision was going to VAR.
He was seen with his hand to an ear piece and looking at his mobile phone.
However, the PGMOL say he was not able to communicate with any of the officials.
Webb maintains he was listening to the audio between VAR and on-field officials – the same feed broadcasters have access to – and that he had no input or opportunity to talk to the officials.
Some fans, and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, questioned the scenes and suggested Webb was involved in the decision-making for Saliba’s sending off after spotting him on his phone at the time.
The former Reds defender swiftly deleted his post, though, and the PGMOL have since robustly insisted, via The Times, that this was not the case.
“Was Howard Webb involved in the decision making of the red card for Saliba??” Carragher wrote on X.
Saliba’s sending off was a hammer blow to Arsenal on SaturdayGetty
It left them with 10 men for most of the matchGetty
Arsenal star Saliba’s red was Arsenal’s third sending off in the Premier League this season, with Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard also sent off inside the first eight games.
And while manager Mikel Arteta had no immediate complaints over Saturday’s decision, he has recognised his side’s discipline record is a problem in the bid to win the Premier League.
“Playing with ten men there is obviously an issue,” said the Gunners boss.
“When you analyse the three different actions and the outcomes it’s very different. We cannot continue to play with ten men. The task becomes almost impossible. We need to eradicate that.”
Rice, who got a second yellow against Brighton for being judged to have kicked the ball away, also bemoaned his side’s ‘silly mistakes’.
Speaking specifically on Saliba’s red card, Arteta added: “It’s a split of a second decision you have to make. The striker is on his back.
“Obviously, he doesn’t expect the ball suddenly to be coming his way. He just made a decision and that’s it.”
Saliba, who has formed a formidable partnership with fellow central defender Gabriel, will miss the clash with Liverpool this weekend as he serves his ban.
