Two independent panels split over Struijk's red card

In Brighton's 2-0 win over Sunderland, Pascal Struijk was shown a red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. The defender was judged to have brought down Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor. Isidor was running onto a pass played toward goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

Referee Thomas Bramall and his assistant initially did not award a foul. VAR Neil Davies stepped in and recommended an on-field review. After watching several replays, Bramall changed his decision and showed Struijk a red card.

Brighton appealed on the grounds of wrongful dismissal. An independent disciplinary commission convened through the FA overturned the red card and the one-match suspension.

The debate did not end there. The Premier League's Key Match Incidents panel, which assesses the key decisions in every match, ruled 3-2 that the VAR intervention was correct. The panel stated that Struijk committed a "sly foul" that should have been penalised by the referee and that clearly affected the opponent's ability to reach the ball. Two members argued that whether Isidor could have gained possession of the ball was subjective.

The panel consists of five people: three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative and one representative from Pro Ref, which is responsible for refereeing in England. The Premier League stated that the two bodies are "completely separate institutions with different aims and processes" and that they may reach different conclusions.

A red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity after a VAR review is rare. It happened only three times last season. Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai and Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix were sent off. Referee Jarred Gillett, meanwhile, did not apply the red card that VAR recommended for Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi.