Premier League Key Match Incidents Panel rules VAR should have awarded spot-kick.
Brighton & Hove Albion FC should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal FC on 4 March, according to the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel.
The incident occurred in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, with Brighton chasing the game after Bukayo Saka’s ninth-minute goal. After a cross from the left, midfielder Mats Wieffer ran into the box but was hauled to the ground by Gabriel Martinelli.
Referee Chris Kavanagh allowed play to continue, and VAR Michael Salisbury cleared the incident, ruling there was no “clear and obvious error.”
However, the KMI Panel disagreed:
- 4-1 voted that a penalty should have been awarded on the field.
- 3-2 voted that it was a missed VAR intervention.
“Martinelli is not looking at the ball, holds Wieffer into the area, and prevents the Brighton player from challenging for the ball,” the panel stated.
This is the second time this season Arsenal have escaped a VAR-awarded penalty in a 1-0 away win, the first being against Everton in December when William Saliba’s challenge on Thierno Barry was similarly denied.
So far in the 2025–26 EPL season, 18 VAR errors have been logged, matching the total for the entire 2024–25 campaign. In the same gameweek, Leeds United were also denied a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.
Despite these controversies, Arsenal remain without any VAR mistakes against them this season, maintaining their unbeaten record in VAR-related decisions.
