The VAR official, responsible for the controversial intervention which saw Paris Saint-Germain awarded a late penalty against Newcastle United, has been sanctioned by UEFA.
Whilst PSG dominated possession and had multiple chances to score, it was Newcastle who led deep in second-half injury time. The Magpies looked like securing a vital three points, which would have meant that their destiny was in their own hands going into the final round of matches.
However, Les Parisiens were awarded a late penalty when Tino Livramento was adjudged to have handled in the box. The penalty was initially not given by on-pitch referee Szymon Marciniak, however, he was summoned to the monitor by VAR official Tomasz Kwiatkowski. After reviewing the incident, the penalty was given, and Kylian Mbappé did the rest.
According to IFAB laws, the penalty should not have been awarded as the ball touched another part of Livramento’s body, before being deflected onto his arm. These rules were communicated to referees, officiating European matches at the start of the season, but they were not correctly implemented during PSG-Newcastle. Whilst UEFA does not wish to comment on the decision, the organisation believes an error was made by the officials.
Kwiatkowski was scheduled to officiate Wednesday night’s match between Real Sociedad and Red Bull Salzburg, however, he will now not do so. He has been taken off the game by the European Refereeing Confederation – an unmistakable sign that an error was in fact committed. Marciniak will also receive a poor mark for his performance.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
