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Imagine being in England’s position as the VAR in Stockley Park.<\/p>\n
The pressure on the official must have been huge. He cannot hear the Sky commentary, he has no idea what public opinion is.<\/p>\n
This is the referee who, in September 2023, was responsible for the biggest VAR mistake the Premier League has seen.<\/p>\n
It was England who misinterpreted an on-field offside decision, causing a goal for Liverpool<\/a>‘s Luis Diaz to be wrongly disallowed at Tottenham<\/a>.<\/p>\n England had to fight his way back up to top-flight refereeing after that.<\/p>\n Today he was presented with a decision that could decide the fate of two clubs.<\/p>\n You can’t blame him for taking his time. He had to get this right.<\/p>\n England spent two minutes 41 seconds poring over every angle of the footage, checking the possible foul, the potential penalties.<\/p>\n We have seen pushing, shoving, grabbing and pulling on corners all season. Goalkeepers have been pressuring and harried too.<\/p>\n Is this different? Crucially, it was.<\/p>\n Arsenal<\/a> have been the kings of it all season, crowding and surrounding goalkeepers at corners, finding ways to create space and score goals from set-pieces.<\/p>\n That they benefit from it in such a crucial way won’t be lost on some.<\/p>\n But it is hard to argue that the Spain international was not impeded. Without the foul contact by Pablo, Raya would surely have had a simple catch.<\/p>\n Pablo had his arm across Raya and he was holding on to the goalkeeper’s left arm too.<\/p>\n It is hard to argue that the Spain international was not impeded. Without the foul contact by Pablo, Raya would surely have had a simple catch.<\/p>\n England checked the other possible fouls too, by Trossard on Pablo and Rice on Summerville.<\/p>\n Importantly, the first foul that had a direct impact on play was Pablo on Raya. You cannot give a penalty for a foul that may come after this.<\/p>\n England had to get that right – and he did.<\/p>\n Referee Kavanagh spent one minute 15 seconds at the monitor. He too would have known the consequences of his final decision.<\/p>\n In total, four minutes 11 seconds potentially deciding the title and the final relegation place.<\/p>\n If it takes that long, can it really be clear and obvious? That is the wrong way to look at it. With such a huge, season-defining call, take as long as necessary to make sure you are getting it right.<\/p>\n England will have spent the final few minutes of the game wondering if he’d made the right call.<\/p>\n There are no communications inside the VAR room, no mobile phones, no way of gauging if you’ve done the right thing.<\/p>\n Imagine the relief when he walks out of the room and is told he’s got it right, that Pablo has impacted Raya from playing the ball.<\/p>\n On Saturday, England will take charge of the FA Cup final between Manchester City<\/a> and Chelsea<\/a>.<\/p>\n That was unthinkable two and a half years ago. Now he’s got the landmark game on the football calendar – and he’s exorcised his VAR demons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n