Video assistant referee decisions drew scrutiny again in the Champions League final, and a season-long series has detailed how VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game are applied. Andy Davies, a former Select Group referee with more than 12 seasons on the elite list and experience operating within the VAR space, provided analysis of key calls from Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal (PSG won 4-3 on penalties).
The match was officiated by Daniel Siebert with Bastian Dankert as VAR. One early incident saw Bukayo Saka strike the ball into both his right and left arm while attempting a clearance inside his own area. Siebert waved away PSG appeals and VAR confirmed the on-field decision, concluding Saka had played the ball onto his own arms and that his arm positions were normal and expected. Davies noted Law 12 excludes accidental ricochets onto a player’s own hand or arm from being a handball offence, with the only exception being if the ball goes directly into the opponent’s goal.
Later, Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera was penalized for a trip on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia inside the box. Mosquera, who had already been booked, conceded the penalty and VAR quickly supported the award after determining Mosquera made no contact with the ball and committed a careless trip. Davies explained that a yellow card is only warranted when a challenge is reckless; a second yellow for a merely careless foul is not required by the laws, and the promising attack in that instance remained addressed via the penalty kick.
Arsenal then appealed for a penalty when Nuno Mendes challenged Noni Madueke in the PSG area. Siebert again declined to award a spot kick. VAR conducted a lengthy review and upheld the on-field decision, with replays showing Madueke had wrapped his left arm around Mendes’ right forearm, contributing to both players falling. Davies emphasized that VAR intervenes only for clear errors, and the available footage did not demonstrate one.
Davies concluded that although the Mendes challenge was clumsy and debatable, the combination of the attacker’s arm contact and VAR’s threshold for overturning on-field decisions meant the non-award of a penalty was correct under the protocols and laws cited.
