Former referee explains why VAR did not punish Vicario for clear handball

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey has revealed that VAR did not intervene in the Guglielmo Vicario handball incident since it was not deemed a potential red card incident.

What did Vicario do wrong?

The incident occurred in the second half when Tottenham were 2-1 up in the game. When Brentford played the ball up, Vicario came out off his line to intercept the ball at the edge of the box but his momentum carried him outside.

The goalkeeper appeared to be out of the penalty box when he made the final touch on the ball to take it away from a Brentford player but he was not penalised by referee John Brooks.

VAR chose not to intervene, much to the consternation of the Brentford players and their coaching staff, with a couple of yellow cards even handed out for their persistent protests.

Why did VAR not get involved?

Halsey has now explained that VAR could have only intervened if the incident was seen as a clear and obvious error leading to a red card offence, which this one was not.

However, he suggested that this was a loophole that had to be closed, calling on the referees to use their judgement on whether incidents like this one constitute a denial of a goalscoring opportunity.

The former PL official told The Sun: “The incident where keeper Guglielmo Vicario handled outside his penalty area was incorrectly dealt with by the match officials.

“But I do not believe that the Tottenham man, who was not punished, should have been sent off. In a situation like this, you have to consider whether it meets the criteria of denying a goal, or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

“Referees must consider the distance between the offence and the goal, the general direction of play, the likelihood of an opponent keeping or gaining control of the ball and the location and number of defenders. This did not meet those criteria.

“It was handball, however, so it should have been a free-kick and a caution. VAR did not get involved because it was not a clear and obvious error regarding a red card offence. But it is a concern that referee John Brooks did not recognise the offence.”

Spurs Web Opinion

The last touch from Vicario was clearly made outside the box and he was a very lucky man as he essentially got away with it due to a technicality.

The Italian is making some poor decisions under pressure time and again, which might end up costing us over the course of the season.

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