Howard Webb explains why VAR left Sven Botman’s yellow card in place
The referees’ chief said Botman’s challenge on Nicolas Jackson was reckless, but the video official had no clear reason to overturn the on-field decision.
Premier League referees’ chief Howard Webb said on 20 October that VAR was right to leave Sven Botman’s yellow card in place after the Newcastle defender challenged Aston Villa striker Nicolas Jackson in Villa’s 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday. Webb called the tackle reckless but said the video official had no clear reason to overturn referee Jarred Gillett’s decision.
The challenge came in the 18th minute. Gillett booked Botman after he went over the top of the ball and made contact with Jackson. Speaking during Match Officials Mic’d Up, Webb described it as a ‘high-end reckless challenge’ and said getting a touch on the ball did not settle whether the tackle was reckless.
Why VAR did not recommend a red card
VAR Stuart Attwell supported the caution because there was no secondary scissor action and the contact with Jackson was not made with Botman’s studs, BBC Sport reported. Webb said the video official’s task was to decide whether Gillett’s call was clearly wrong, rather than make a fresh judgment on a close decision.
Webb said strong stud contact from Botman’s extended leg with Jackson’s ankle or shin, or a closing scissor action, could have changed the VAR outcome. He added that if Gillett had shown a red card on the field, VAR would have allowed that decision to stand too. That left the initial sanction decisive in a challenge Webb regarded as subjective.
Jackson said after the match that he ‘nearly broke my leg’ and hoped a similar challenge would draw a red card next time. His comment described how he experienced the tackle; BBC Sport reported no injury diagnosis. Johan Manzambi scored Villa’s winner in the 36th minute.
How the decision fits this season’s VAR approach
Webb said referees should retain ownership of such calls, with VAR stepping in when something is clearly wrong. He described that as the Premier League’s lighter-touch approach this season. BBC Sport reported 21 VAR interventions after seven rounds, including nine on subjective decisions, compared with three interventions and none on subjective decisions at the same stage last season.
The BBC also reported that the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel had judged one VAR intervention wrong and identified one missed intervention to award a penalty after seven rounds this season. Those figures give context for Webb’s explanation of the review threshold; his account of this tackle rests on the contact and actions Attwell saw in the footage.
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Sources and context
- Referees boss Howard Webb explains why Sven Botman escaped red card for Nicolas Jackson challenge in Aston Villa win over NewcastleGOAL.com (carried by Yahoo Sports)
- Howard Webb backs VAR over Botman challenge on JacksonBBC Sport
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.