Panel Rules Arsenal Wrongly Denied Penalty as Maatsen Avoids Red Card in Villa Clash

The Premier League's Key Match Incident Panel has ruled that Arsenal were wrongly denied a penalty during their match against Aston Villa, and that Villa defender Ian Maatsen should have been sent off for the challenge.

All five panel members agreed unanimously that a penalty should have been given on the pitch for a late foul by Maatsen. They said the contact was clearly on the standing leg of the Arsenal player involved, with no contact made on the ball at all.

The panel also found that VAR should have stepped in to fix the referee's mistake, calling it a clear and obvious error that should not have been missed.

Beyond just the penalty, the panel went further and said the challenge itself was reckless enough to warrant a second yellow card for Maatsen. Since he had already picked up a booking earlier in the game, that second yellow would have meant a red card and an early exit from the match.

That outcome would have been possible if VAR had told the referee to review the penalty decision on the pitch. Once there, the referee could have also assessed the tackle and handed out the second yellow separately. VAR itself is not allowed to recommend a second yellow card directly, but it can send the referee to review a penalty, which can then lead to a card being shown as a result of that on field review.

In the end, none of this changed the outcome of the match, since Arsenal won regardless. Had the penalty been given, it would have padded the club's goal difference and eased the pressure in the closing stages, but it is unlikely it would have affected the final result.