The PGMOL admitted that Brighton was denied a penalty against Tottenham in the Premier League on the weekend. PGMOL’s chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, apologised to Brighton and met with them to discuss the game’s decision-making process. PGMOL has apologized to the club three times this season for decisions made on the field. When Kaoru Mitoma seemed to be fouled in the area by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, referee Stuart Attwell originally refused to penalize the Tottenham midfielder. VAR Michael Salisbury swiftly reviewed the film at Stockley Park before play continued with no penalty awarded.
“Following Brighton & Hove Albion’s encounter at Tottenham Hotspur, PGMOL and the club communicated about a number of events that occurred during the game. During that conversation, PGMOL admitted that they made a mistake by not awarding a second-half penalty for a foul on Kaoru Mitoma. The significant match occurrences from this game will be reviewed in accordance with our standard procedures,” the PGMOL said in a statement.
Brighton made three strong arguments, none of which were granted to the visitors. Brighton is seeking clarification on other decisions made by match officials during the game, and they are dissatisfied that two goals were disallowed. They also want to have a broader debate about other decisions that have gone against them this season. Tottenham went on to win the tense match 2-1, keeping them within three points of the top four. Both Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham interim manager Cristian Stellini were sent off. Brighton’s defeat dropped them to seventh place, 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
PGMOL issued Brighton’s first apology this season after referee David Coote and VAR Neil Swarbrick chose not to dismiss Fabinho for a harsh challenge on Evan Ferguson during the Seagulls’ FA Cup fourth-round victory over Liverpool. The second came after Pervis Estupinan’s goal in the 1-1 Premier League tie at Crystal Palace was erroneously disallowed because the VAR placed the offside lines in the wrong spot when reviewing the goal. Dunk also questioned why the officials decided to uphold the decision to deny Mitoma’s earlier goal due to a questionable handball but not overrule the decision not to award the Japanese winger what appeared to be a clear penalty.
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