The UAF Referees' Committee officially acknowledged that in yesterday’s match of the 11th round of the Ukrainian championship between Donetsk 'Shakhtar' and Kyiv 'Dynamo' (3:1), a penalty should have been awarded against the Miners at a score of 2:1 for a foul by the Donetsk defender Efim Konoplia on the Kyiv midfielder Shola Ogundane.
The committee published the interpretation of this game episode and the discussions among referees, and also accused the VAR referee Igor Paskhal of not suggesting the main referee review video replays of the situation.
«During the struggle for the ball in the penalty area, player No. 16 'Dynamo' successfully pushed the ball and had the opportunity to continue possession but was carelessly attacked by defender No. 26 'Shakhtar'.
The main referee, despite being relatively close to the episode, did not have an optimal viewing angle to fully assess the moment. As a result, he did not call a foul and allowed the game to continue.
As we can see in the replays, only one angle from behind the goal provided a complete and fair view of the episode. The VAR referees had this angle, unlike the head referee, but did not suggest field review. This could have provided the referee with additional information for making the correct decision to award a penalty, as such defender action falls under the definition of a foul that should be punished with a penalty.
This decision by the VAR referee is considered erroneous by the referees' committee, and they urge VAR referees in such situations to recommend the main referee review the episode,» stated in the comments of the referees' committee.
Referees' discussions during the Konoplia — Ogundane episode: