Ex-PGMOL chief impressed by ‘terrific’ Peter Bankes decision in Arsenal vs Chelsea despite controversy
Arsenal were denied a penalty in the build-up to their stoppage-time winner against Chelsea in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final.
Kai Havertz‘s goal in the dying seconds saw Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 to book their place in next month’s final.
The Gunners carried a goal advantage from the first leg and needed only to avoid conceding to progress.
Arsenal could have had a penalty when Wesley Fofana appeared to handle the ball in the first half, but both referee Peter Bankes and VAR were uninterested.
Chelsea beat West Ham 3-2 on Saturday to extend their winning run to five games under Liam Rosenior, but they were stopped in their tracks by the Gunners.
Keith Hackett unconvinced by Arsenal incident
Tuesday’s clash was cagey throughout, with neither team managing to generate anything clear-cut throughout the opening 70 minutes.
Chelsea started with a back-five, but grew into the game and looked like the team more likely to nick a winner as the game drew on.
| Arsenal | Match stats | Chelsea |
| 44% | Possession | 56% |
| 5 | Shots | 14 |
| 2 | Shots on target | 2 |
| 0.91 | Expected goals (xG) | 0.68 |
| 2 | Corners | 5 |
But the first key chance fell to Arsenal, with Gabriel‘s header at the back-post surely only prevented from hitting the back of the net by the head of Marc Cucurella.
In the final minutes of normal time, the Gunners felt as if they would finally get the chance for the breakthrough when Gabriel Martinelli was brought down inside the box.
Trevor Chalobah had dived in and clearly won the ball at the first attempt, but replays showed his trailing leg rising and tripping the Arsenal attacker as he ran on to the loose ball.
Bankes was not convinced, and neither was VAR after a short check. Arsenal fans were incensed by the decision, but former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett praised it.
“This is a terrific decision by referee Peter Bankes in judging that this was not a foul,” he exclusively told Football Insider. “VAR James Bell is right not to intervene.”
What Gary Neville said about Arsenal penalty incident
Commentating live on the game for Sky Sports, Peter Drury revealed that VAR official Bell had told Bankes that the contact was natural.
But replays appeared to disagree with his verdict, with Chalobah quite clearly lifting his trailing leg after making contact with the ball.
Speaking live on the game, Gary Neville said: “It wasn’t natural. He [Chalobah] sweeps his left leg up in the air, which he didn’t need to do because he made a good challenge.
“It was always the follow-through that I thought was the danger for him, you can see why it wasn’t given.”
Ultimately, Arsenal have made it to the final regardless, and they will discover their opponents on Wednesday.