The VAR review: Merino penalty drama; Ming's handball error

Coach Mikel Arteta was furious at two refereeing decisions after Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat to Internazionale in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

The Gunners were denied a penalty as Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer hit Mikel Merino's head, but moments later Merino conceded a penalty for a handball.

“I don’t understand (the handball decision),” said Arteta. “There is no danger at all. You can't react because the ball is very close. But okay. They decide it’s a penalty.”

“But if that's a penalty, then the one against Merino where he (Sommer) hits him on the head has to be a 1,000 percent penalty. These are the margins in this game and it’s very difficult to accept.”

But was Arteta's anger misplaced or should the VAR have intervened?

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Possible penalty: Challenge through summer on Merino

What happened: The game took place in the 28th minute when Gabriel Martinelli swung a cross into the penalty area from the left side. Mikel Merino got to the ball first but headed over it, causing goalkeeper Yann Sommer to touch the Arsenal player's head to keep it away. Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs signaled a goal kick and a possible penalty was checked by VAR Christian Dingert.

VAR decision: No penalty.

VAR review: Goalkeepers have the right to rush out and fight for the ball with their fists, but at the same time they must be mindful of the players around them.

It's hard to be sure, but Sommer may have lightly touched the ball before it came off Merino's head. However, this would not exclude the possibility of punishment if the challenge is considered reckless or dangerous.

In UEFA competitions, where there is a much lower hurdle for fouls, we would expect a penalty to be awarded in such a situation. So you can totally understand Arteta's frustration.

Sommer makes full contact with Merino's head, deflects it and pushes it back, causing the Arsenal player to hit his head on the ground.

The VAR has ruled that this is normal football contact; It was a collision involving the goalkeeper as part of a genuine attempt to pass the ball and was not a reckless act.

At Euro 2020, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris conceded a penalty when he came out to punch and hit Portuguese midfielder Danilo in the head.

At the 2022 World Cup, Argentina was awarded a penalty against Poland when goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny caught Lionel Messi with his arm outstretched. Szczesny came out to receive a cross in the 36th minute, Messi got to the ball first with his head, but Szczesny then collided with the striker. The VAR, Paulus Van Boekel from the Netherlands, recommended a review of the penalty. But there was so little contact that the decision seemed harsh.

If you look at last season's league game, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez came out from a cross and crashed into Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus. The referee didn't give the penalty on the pitch and the Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel said the only thing that saved the mistake from being a VAR error was an offside player in the lead-up.

Possible cancellation of the penalty: Handball by Merino

What happened: Inter Milan were awarded a penalty in first-half stoppage time when Hakan Çalhanoglu played a ball into the penalty area and when Mehdi Taremi tried to help him, it hit Merino's hand. Referee Kovacs pointed to the penalty spot.

VAR decision: Penalty stands, scored by Çalhanoglu.

VAR review: English football fans have been spared handball penalties this season. So far, only one penalty has been awarded in 100 games in the Premier League – by VAR against Aston Villa's Matty Cash at Fulham.

Referees focus solely on a player's right to actually have arms. They believe that handball should only be penalized when a player's arm is completely outside the body and creates a clear barrier. Villa's Cash had his arm fully extended but even then there were doubts about the proximity.

The Premier League is certainly the outlier, with the Champions League having the highest frequency of handball penalties of any competition, albeit just ahead of Ligue 1.

Merino was standing right next to Taremi, but his arm was in a raised position, blocking the ball's path, so by UEFA definition he is expected to be penalized.

The biggest disappointment is that many competitions now have their own interpretation of the wording, either lenient as in the Premier League or very strict as in the UCL and France. This will be difficult for Arsenal fans to accept as the league has reverted to the interpretation used before the 2018 law change (which led to a huge increase in penalties). Still, it is actually a two-tier law, as Arsenal noted on Wednesday.

Possible red card: Arteta for interfering with the game

What happened: The game took place in the 63rd minute when the ball ran down the touchline and as Matteo Darmian moved towards it, Arteta caught it before going out of play. Referee Kovacs showed the yellow card, but should it have been red?

VAR decision: No red card.

VAR review: According to the wording of the law, this should be a red card, as Law 12 states: “Send-off violations include (but are not limited to) entering the field of play to disrupt play.”

We've seen two such red cards in British football this year, for West Bromwich Albion manager Carlos Corberán and Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes.

The referee chose to use his discretion to only show Arteta a yellow card as the ball appeared to be going out of play, but by law this should have been a red.

However, the VAR is not mandated to intervene in matters where the referee clearly saw the incident but chose not to show a red card.

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Possible cancellation of the penalty / red card: Ming's handball

What happened: Club Brugge were awarded a penalty in the 50th minute under bizarre circumstances. Aston Villa had a goal kick and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez played it to defender Tyrone Mings… who thought the game hadn't started yet and picked up the ball. Referee Tobia Stieler pointed to the penalty spot but did not impose any disciplinary action against Mings.

VAR decision: No red card. Penalty stands, scored by Hans Vanaken.

VAR review: A crazy situation – especially when you consider that we experienced a very similar situation in April that did not result in a penalty.

In the previous example, Arsenal played Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. Goalkeeper David Raya had the ball in the middle, he then passed it to Gabriel, who picked up the ball and put it down again before passing it back to Raya. Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg used his discretion (the spirit of the law, as set out in Rule 5, gives a referee some leeway to direct the game in certain circumstances) and allowed the free kick to be taken again rather than awarding a penalty.

That wasn't the case at Villa, with Stieler opting for the penalty – and many would argue that Nyberg was wrong not to do so.

There is one key difference: in the Arsenal game there was no pressure on the ball by a Bayern player, so one could argue that this was an inconsequential error and the referee was fair in allowing the replay. In the Villa game, Ferran Jutglà ran into the penalty area to stop Mings as Martínez played the ball.

Mings already had a yellow card and that was a deliberate handball. So why wasn't he shown a red card, or at least a second yellow card? That is the real question for the VAR, because a penalty is undoubtedly legally correct.

Intentional handball is not in itself an offense requiring disciplinary action, nor is handball by a goalkeeper outside the penalty area. It's about the effect on the opposition.

Stieler could have chosen to sign Mings if he felt that Jutglà would be prevented from playing the ball, but the VAR cannot decide on yellow.

Then it depends on whether there is a red card and whether the VAR considered Mings' handball a criminal offense because he denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO). Jutglà came towards the ball, but he wasn't running with pace, so he would definitely get to it if Mings hadn't handled it. But it's not a classic case of DOGSO, where an attacker walks past a defender and commits a foul. Mings would still be there to pose a challenge. So the only real argument is a yellow for possibly stopping a promising attacker, which the VAR cannot give.

Although Jutglà raced to finish, Mings still had plenty of time, making his decision to pick up the ball even more confusing. He must not have thought that Martínez had put the ball into the player. But the referee could have easily given him a second yellow card.

Whatever one thinks about the merits of the two separate incidents, it is difficult for fans to grasp that the two can have opposite outcomes – one is a replay, the other a penalty.