The KMI Panel unanimously rejected the penalty awarded against Ezri Konsa, while backing the other major decisions from Arsenal's 2-0 win at Sunderland.
Arsenal have been told the penalty awarded to Sunderland for Ezri Konsa's challenge on Dan Ballard should not have been given.
The Premier League's Key Match Incidents Panel unanimously ruled the on-field decision incorrect, with all five members voting against the penalty awarded by referee John Brooks in the 54th minute.
David Raya ultimately ensured the penalty came to nothing; the Spaniard saved Enzo Le Fée's spot-kick before Bruno Guimaraes scored just two minutes later, with Bukayo Saka adding a second from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time as the Gunners won 2-0.
The panel's explanation of the Sunderland penalty is more complicated than the 5-0 vote initially suggests.
Konsa did have his arms around Ballard as the pair competed inside the area, something the panel described as a “very untidy challenge”. The panel said Ballard then engaged in his own holding action and pulled Konsa towards him before both players went to ground.
That was enough for every panel member to conclude the penalty itself was wrong. But despite disagreeing with Brooks' original decision, the panel voted 3-2 that VAR was correct not to intervene. The majority felt both players' actions meant the penalty did not meet the threshold of a clear error required to overturn it.
This isn't the first time Arsenal have been subject to the panel correcting a decision that should have went the way of the Gunners, previously stating Bruno Guimaraes should have received a penalty against Aston Villa in Match Week Two.
The Premier League's post-match communication explained why the decision remained on the field at the time. Brooks believed Konsa was “all over” Ballard at the near post, while VAR supported his view that the holding was enough for a foul.
It was the only on-field decision from the Sunderland-Arsenal incidents reviewed by the KMI Panel to be judged incorrect.
Sunderland also wanted a penalty when Brian Brobbey and Riccardo Calafiori came together in the first half. Four of the five panel members supported the decision to play on, judging the contact below the threshold required for a holding offence.
There was unanimous support for the decision not to award Sunderland another penalty following Christos Tzolis' challenge on Nordi Mukiele. At the same time, Jurrien Timber was correctly ruled offside when Arsenal had a goal disallowed in the 78th minute.
The decisions at the other end late on received the same backing.
All five panel members agreed Saka should have been awarded a penalty after Reinildo Mandava initially held the Arsenal winger before tripping him inside the area. The panel also unanimously supported Reinildo's second yellow card. Although the foul denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, the panel judged it to be a genuine attempt to challenge for the ball, meaning a yellow card rather than a straight red was the correct punishment.
The KMI Panel is made up of five members: one Premier League representative, one PGMOL representative and three independent former players or managers.
Arsenal left the Stadium of Light with the result intact and most of the major refereeing calls subsequently supported.
The exception was the biggest decision against them. Raya's save meant the incorrect penalty didn't cause a major impact on the game as a whole, but the Premier League's own review has now concluded it should not have been there in the first place.
