Premier League panel unanimously rules Sunderland penalty against Arsenal was wrong call

The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel has unanimously ruled that Sunderland should not have been awarded a penalty against Arsenal during their 2-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light earlier this month.

Referee John Brooks pointed to the spot after Ezri Konsa was judged to have fouled Dan Ballard from a corner, and the decision was checked and upheld by VAR at the time. The independent panel reviewed the incident and returned a 5-0 verdict that the on-pitch call was incorrect.

In a statement, the panel explained: “The panel unanimously felt that the referee’s call of a penalty for a holding offence was incorrect. Although it was a very untidy challenge in which Konsa initially had arms around Ballard, Ballard engages in a holding action, which pulls Konsa onto him, so they both fall to the floor.”

Despite the unanimous finding on the original decision, the panel split 3-2 in favour of VAR’s decision not to intervene, with the majority concluding the error did not meet the threshold of a clear and obvious mistake given the combined actions of both players.

Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fee ultimately missed the penalty, with David Raya saving the spot-kick, and Arsenal went on to win comfortably. Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring with a long-range effort shortly after the penalty miss, before Bukayo Saka converted from the spot in stoppage time after being fouled by Reinildo. The panel separately supported that second penalty award, noting Reinildo’s initial holding action before tripping Saka inside the area.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had been furious with the Sunderland penalty decision in his post-match press conference, labelling it “unbelievable” despite his side securing all three points. The KMI panel’s ruling vindicates Arteta’s frustration, though the structural finding on VAR non-intervention means no formal action follows from the review.