The chief refereeing officer of the Premier League, Howard Webb, has said Anthony Taylor was right to award a penalty against Arsenal defender, William Saliba in their 1-1 draw at Brighton last Saturday.
With the Gunners leading 1-0 at the time, Saliba was deemed to have fouled João Pedro when he headed the striker in the side of the face.
Pedro took the spot-kick and levelled for the Seagulls as they earned a point.
After the game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was “really disappointed with the decision”.
Arteta added that he had “never seen something like this in my life.”
But in the view of Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, it was “a clear penalty.”
Webb, speaking on the latest edition of Match Officials Mic’d Up, backed the decision to award the penalty.
He explained that the ball touching Saliba’s head after Pedro had played it did not negate the award.
“I can’t think of something like this, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Webb said.
“It means it’s unusual.
“What you see in this situation is two players going towards a ball in the air. Pedro flicks it up, he and Saliba go towards the ball and Pedro heads it onto Saliba. Saliba doesn’t head it.
“Saliba has the ball flicked onto his head and then he goes into the head of Pedro. He gets there late on Pedro, who goes down. It’s a late contact by someone who hasn’t played the ball himself. The ball has touched him, but he’s not played it. And Pedro goes down.
“When you break it down in that way, it’s a foul.”
