Is Liverpool’s win vs. Inter a statement towards Mo Salah? (2:15)Craig Burley discusses the impact of Liverpool’s 1-0 win vs. Inter in relation to Mohamed Salah’s situation at the club. (2:15)
Andy Davies, Special to ESPNDec 10, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
The video assistant referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made and are they correct?
Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a Premier League matchday.
Referee: Felix Zwayer VAR: Sören Storks Incident 1: Possible Handball, leading to a goal. Time: 32 minutes
VAR decision: The VAR recommended an on-field review (OFR), having deemed that Ekitite committed a handball offence in the buildup to the goal.
VAR review: This review was a lengthy four minutes, with the officials uncomfortable that a goal had been scored, created in part via a deflection off an attacking player’s arm.
Following the OFR, referee Zwayer decided that the incident did indeed meet the threshold for a handball offence and the goal was disallowed.
Verdict: In my opinion, Liverpool were unfortunate in this incident as this goal would have been awarded in the Premier League. The considerations specific to this incident carry a much higher threshold in the Premier League when a ball is played against a teammate’s arm.
However, the handball law, its interpretation and application has a much lower threshold in Europe, as clearly evidenced in this incident.
Having said this, it doesn’t necessarily mean that UEFA will agree that this is a correct interpretation. It will be interesting to hear their official position.
VAR decision: The VAR felt that Bastoni committed a holding offence that impacted Wirtz and recommended an OFR for a possible penalty kick.
VAR review: Referee Zwayer’s trip to the monitor was relatively brief on this occasion. Once he had viewed the incident from two angles, he had seen enough to agree with the VAR and awarded a penalty kick.
Verdict: This was, in my opinion, a poor intervention by the VAR and, equally, a surprising final outcome delivered by the referee.
As with the handball decision in the first half, it will be interesting to hear UEFA’s official position over the interpretation of this situation. I would be surprised if this is backed as a correct intervention by the VAR or the final decision from the referee.
Is Liverpool’s win vs. Inter a statement towards Mo Salah? (2:15)Craig Burley discusses the impact of Liverpool’s 1-0 win vs. Inter in relation to Mohamed Salah’s situation at the club. (2:15)
Craig Burley discusses the impact of Liverpool’s 1-0 win vs. Inter in relation to Mohamed Salah’s situation at the club. (2:15)
– Was the holding sustained – Was the holding impactful