An explanation has been given as to why Brighton were awarded a penalty during their clash with Arsenal. The Gunners had taken the lead in the first half thanks to wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri, who became only the sixth player to score multiple goals in the Premier League before his 18th birthday.
While the lead was slender, the visitors continued to probe for their second until Brighton striker Joao Pedro won a penalty after being fouled by William Saliba. The Brazilian attempted to flick the ball away from the Frenchman, and the two collided while going for the loose ball, which was enough for Anthony Taylor to point to the spot. Now, it has been confirmed why the decision was made, despite it appearing to be a case of an accidental clash of heads.
In the aftermath of the decision, the Premier League Match Centre X account released a statement confirming that: “The referee’s call of penalty for a foul by Saliba on João Pedro was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty.”
Pedro would then step up to the spot and covert the penalty to restore parity, but fans online were left baffled by the decision. One tweeted saying: “Never ever seen this type of foul for a penalty given before… Only against Arsenal,” while another added “Another day, another penalty you’ve never seen before and will never see again.”
