An independent panel has ruled that referee John Brooks was wrong to award Sunderland a penalty during their 2-0 defeat by Arsenal.
Brooks pointed to the spot after a tussle between Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa and Sunderland’s Dan Ballard inside the penalty area. Sunderland’s Enzo Le Fee took the resulting penalty, but his effort was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
All five members of the Key Match Incidents Panel agreed that the decision to award the 11-metre kick was incorrect.
The panel said the incident involved actions from both players. Konsa initially put his arms around Ballard, before the Sunderland defender held his opponent and pulled him towards himself.
Despite rejecting the on-field decision, the panel agreed with the video assistant referee’s decision not to intervene or recommend that Brooks review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
The vote on the VAR decision was split 3-2.