Arsenal to contact Pro Ref over Konsa penalty
In Ghana, MyJoyOnline, citing the BBC, reported that Arsenal plans to contact the refereeing body Pro Ref for an explanation regarding the penalty awarded in the match against Sunderland. The London club won Saturday's game.
The penalty incident
The penalty was awarded after a tussle in the penalty area between Arsenal defender Ezra Konsa and Sunderland defender Dan Ballard. Referee John Brooks ruled that Konsa had held his opponent excessively and awarded a penalty to Sunderland.
Brooks made the decision directly on the pitch, and the video assistant referee system, VAR, confirmed it after a review. The Premier League Match Centre stated that VAR checked the penalty decision for Konsa holding Ballard and allowed it to stand.
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Arteta's reaction
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta criticised the referee's decision after the match. According to him, he watched the incident 20 times but could not understand the grounds for awarding the penalty or VAR's actions in this situation. Arteta also said that such decisions could affect the course of the season and the title race.
As MyJoyOnline notes, the reigning Premier League champions want to find out how Brooks reached such a conclusion and avoid important refereeing decisions affecting results. Match of the Day pundits Ashley Williams and Thomas Frank also believed that the penalty should not have been awarded. In their view, the referee should have penalised Ballard for a foul and awarded a free kick to Arsenal.
