The Premier League has admitted that Brighton & Hove Albion should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal earlier this month.
The incident occurred in first-half stoppage time when Brighton midfielder Mats Wieffer was brought down in the box by Gabriel Martinelli. Referee Chris Kavanagh waved play on, while VAR official Michael Salisbury also cleared the decision.
However, the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel later ruled that a penalty should have been awarded. The panel voted 4-1 in favour of a spot-kick and 3-2 that VAR failed to intervene correctly.
“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 marks the second time this season Arsenal have avoided a VAR-awarded penalty in a 1-0 away win.
So far, 18 VAR errors have been recorded this season — matching the total from the entire 2024/25 campaign.
