Ref Watch: Arsenal’s wall was less than 11.2 yards away as Bruno Fernandes took free-kick, says Dermot Gallagher | Football Newsnews24

Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher assesses the controversial moments from the weekend’s action, including Bruno Fernandes’ much-discussed free-kick vs Arsenal.

Man Utd 1-1 Arsenal

INCIDENT: A lot was made about the distance of the wall from where Bruno Fernandes took his free-kick, from which he opened the scoring for Manchester United.

It was measured as 11.2 yards, which is further away than the usual 10.

The IFAB Law 13.2 states that a wall should be ‘at least 9.15m (10yds) from the ball, unless they are on their own goal line between the goalposts’.

DERMOT SAYS: “The referee felt it was 10 yards and in fairness to him, the law says minimum of 10 yards. It doesn’t say they can’t go back 11.

“He may have factored in that when a free-kick is taken, the wall moves forward anyhow so by the time the free kick is taken, it’s closer to 10.

“I’m not sure the calibration [of the measurement] is right anyhow, but Anthony Taylor will have his system of measuring 10 yards.

“The pitch is cut in six-yard sections and looking at the pictures, it doesn’t look to be much off 10 yards when you see it.

“There are guides for referees to help them.”

INCIDENT: Arsenal were adamant they should have had a penalty when the ball struck Ayden Heaven’s arm in the box.

DERMOT SAYS: “He heads it onto his own arm. He goes to head the ball, heads it onto his own arm, clears the ball.

“It’s not a penalty. It can’t be given like that. Nobody would give a penalty for that.”

INCIDENT: Arsenal’s Mikel Merino was not punished for catching Alejandro Garnacho on the ankle when the United player was on the deck.

DERMOT SAYS: “If the referee gives something, he’ll give a yellow card. It doesn’t look good, but I don’t think it’s a red card.

“I think Casemiro also gives him a kick, so he got booted by two players!

“What helps Garnacho is that he stands on his boot rather than his ankle.”

Liverpool 3-1 Southampton

INCIDENT: There was a VAR check for a red card against Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez for a foul on Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters. He was instead shown a yellow card.

DERMOT SAYS: “It’s petulant, but if he had really followed through, he’s getting a red card.

“It’s so unwise, but it’s a yellow. It doesn’t have the intensity and violence [for a red].

“It could be a lot worse. That’s what saved him.”

INCIDENT: Right after scoring the equaliser, Nunez then won a penalty after a challenge from Will Smallbone.

DERMOT SAYS: “I think it’s a penalty. When you make a challenge like that, you have to get the ball and he doesn’t.

“It’s clumsy. He catches the man.”

Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa

INCIDENT: In Aston Villa’s win over Brentford, Thomas Frank felt his side should have had at least one penalty.

The first on Kevin Schade he was most convinced about, with Matty Cash and Axel Disasi involved.

There was then another challenge from Disasi on Schade later in the game, which also went unpunished.

DERMOT SAYS: “Because Cash heads the ball [for the first incident], the referee gives a corner. He says he’s cleared the ball.

“When the second Villa player comes in, he thinks he’s slipped into him, and Cash clearly heads the ball out for a corner. He does that before the collision [from Disasi].

“Disasi is lucky [for the second foul] because it’s really clumsy.

“Once the forward gets in front, he’s very clever. He’s gotten across the defender and has the ascendancy. The defender has to back off.”

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester City

INCIDENT: Elliot Anderson swept the ball away before Phil Foden could reach it and caught the Manchester City forward with a heavy challenge on the shin. VAR reviewed the incident and no red card followed.

DERMOT SAYS: “He definitely gets the ball; he catches Foden on the way through.

“What can a player do? Players are coming in opposite directions with momentum, so it’s inevitable there’s going to be a collision.”