Gavin

In real time, the shirt-pull by Jurrien Timber on Alexander Isak looked to have had little impact on the striker. Anyone reviewing the incident based on this footage would back the referee’s call to play on. But slowed down to a quarter of the actual speed, and viewed from behind the goal, it looks like a sustained holding offence that prevents Isak from reaching the ball. For a VAR intervention, there should be evidence of a sustained hold by a defender that has an impact on the other player’s ability to play the ball. And from the still images we have seen, it certainly looks like that. We should all want these shirt pulls to be eliminated from the game, whoever we support, and awarding penalties consistently would help reduce defenders’ temptation to take their chances. 📝 @Refsplaining 🔗 nyti.ms/4A3Xn4u