According to a report by Football London on Monday, November 9, 2026, Arsenal were wrongly denied a penalty during their 1-0 victory over Hull City after a controversial VAR intervention involving Kai Havertz.

The publication’s referee review concluded that referee Farai Hallam and video assistant referee Michael Oliver made an incorrect decision when assessing a holding offence against the German forward inside the penalty area.

The incident occurred when Hull defender Nobel Mendy pulled down Havertz just inside the box. Hallam initially allowed play to continue before VAR recommended that he review the situation on the pitchside monitor.

After checking the footage, the referee identified an offence by Mendy but also noticed that Havertz had been in an offside position. He subsequently decided against awarding Arsenal a penalty.

However, Football London’s assessment argued that the officials had misinterpreted the rules because Mendy’s holding offence occurred before the offside infringement.

According to the publication, Arsenal should therefore have been awarded a penalty kick.

The same two players had also been involved in another disputed incident earlier in the match. Havertz appeared to have his shirt pulled by Mendy while attempting to control the ball inside the penalty area, but Hallam did not award a spot-kick.

Football London’s review described that particular situation as borderline, suggesting that VAR would not have been expected to overturn the referee’s original decision.

Meanwhile, Michael Oliver also attracted attention for his involvement in Brentford’s 2-0 defeat to Brighton, during which Igor Thiago was shown a red card.

The Brazilian striker was dismissed following an incident involving Brighton midfielder Chema Andres. However, Football London’s review suggested that the contact did not justify a straight red card.

The publication argued that a yellow card would have been a more appropriate punishment because Thiago’s actions did not meet the threshold for violent conduct.

As a result of his dismissal, the Brentford forward will miss the club’s upcoming Premier League meeting with Arsenal.

The refereeing controversies have emerged at an important stage of the title race, particularly after Arsenal strengthened their position at the top of the table following Manchester City’s defeat.

Although the Gunners secured all three points against Hull, the disputed decisions have renewed discussions about VAR consistency and the standard of officiating in the Premier League.