Arsenal Match: KMI Panel Says Brighton Should Have Been Awarded Penalty After VAR Cleared Decision
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel has ruled that Brighton should have been awarded a penalty in the Arsenal Match at the Amex, saying the on-field officials missed a clear foul that was also not overturned by VAR.
Arsenal Match: What the KMI Panel Found
The panel concluded that Gabriel Martinelli hauled Brighton midfielder Mats Wieffer to the ground as Wieffer attempted to run into the area to meet a cross, and that a spot-kick should have been awarded in the 1-0 home defeat. Brighton were trailing to Bukayo Saka’s ninth-minute goal when the incident occurred in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
The KMI Panel voted 4: 1 that a penalty should have been awarded on the field. In a separate vote the panel decided 3: 2 that the incident met the threshold for a missed VAR intervention, meaning the video assistant referee should have recommended a review.
The ruling said Martinelli was not looking at the ball, held Wieffer into the area and prevented the Brighton player from challenging for the ball.
How VAR Officials Handled the Decision
Referee Chris Kavanagh allowed play to continue and video assistant referee Michael Salisbury cleared the decision without intervening. The Premier League Match Centre wrote that the VAR deemed there was no clear and obvious error.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler complained to fourth official David Webb and exchanged words with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on the touchline during the match. The KMI Panel’s findings mark the second time this season that Arsenal have escaped a VAR penalty in matches they won by a single goal.
Seasonwide VAR Record, Related Incidents and Context
The panel’s verdict sits alongside other recent KMI rulings. In December the KMI Panel said Everton should have been awarded a penalty after William Saliba’s challenge on Thierno Barry, and Michael Salisbury was also the VAR for that match. Earlier this month the panel unanimously voted that Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty for handball by Declan Rice, but a 4: 1 vote decided it did not reach the threshold for VAR intervention. In that game Arsenal led 1-0 when Rice deflected the ball following a corner; Chelsea scored two minutes later through a Piero Hincapie own goal and went on to lose 2-1.
Across the season the independent panel has logged 18 VAR errors, matching the total for the entire 2024-25 campaign and remaining below the 35 mistakes in 2022-23 and 31 in 2023-24. From the same gameweek as the Brighton match, Leeds should have been awarded a penalty in their 1-0 loss at home to Sunderland for a holding offence on Pascal Struijk. The Gunners have had no VAR mistakes go against them so far this season.
The ruling comes as Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table with a clear lead and prepare for the return leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, where they face Bayer Leverkusen on March 17.
