The Premier League’s KMI Panel has published its Match Round Four review, including three decisions from Brentford’s 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
Brentford’s late first-half penalty appeal at Bournemouth has been backed as a correct no-call decision by the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel.
Keith Andrews’ side wanted a spot-kick six minutes into stoppage time before the break after the ball struck Adrien Truffert’s arm inside the area. The referee allowed play to continue, VAR did not intervene, and the panel has now supported both decisions by a unanimous 5-0 vote.
The panel's explanation was relatively straightforward. The ball had deflected from an opponent before reaching Truffert and struck what the panel considered his supporting arm, which was enough for the handball appeal to fall below the threshold for a penalty.
The timing made the incident notable for Brentford. The game was level at 1-1, with Kevin Schade having earlier put the Bees in front before Bournemouth equalised through Justin Kluivert.
That goal brought two more decisions into the Premier League’s weekly review.
Evanilson had been involved in the build-up and officials checked both whether the ball had remained in play and whether the Bournemouth forward was onside. The goal stood at the time and the KMI Panel has since agreed with both calls, again unanimously.
Brentford therefore went into half-time level rather than with a chance to restore their lead from the penalty spot.
Bournemouth moved ahead after the break before Schade scored again to make it 2-2, the eventual final score on the day. The draw extended Brentford’s unbeaten Premier League start, although Andrews was open afterwards about his side not reaching the level he wanted for long enough.
The penalty appeal was one of those moments which could easily have changed the shape of the game without necessarily changing the assessment of Brentford’s performance. Had it been given, they would have had the opportunity to go back in front shortly before half-time. The panel’s review, though, offers no support for the suggestion that the Bees were denied something they should have had.
There was also no disagreement over Bournemouth’s equaliser. Both decisions around Evanilson were supported 5-0, leaving all three incidents from the match which appeared in the Match Round Four review with unanimous backing by the KMI panel.
The panel itself is made up of five members: one Premier League representative, one PGMOL representative and three independent former players or managers.
On this occasion, none of them found fault with the officials’ handling of the incidents in the game against Bournemouth. The handball appeal remains the one Brentford had the strongest reason to ask about in the moment, but the panel’s explanation comes down to two details: the deflection before contact and Truffert’s arm being used for support.
