Havertz Penalty Denied Over Offside That Was Not an Offence, Say Former Referees

Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty against Hull City despite Kai Havertz being in an offside position, former referees’ chief Keith Hackett and ex-assistant referee Darren Cann say. Havertz was brought down inside the area by Hull defender Nobel Mendy, referee Farai Hallam pointed to the spot, and VAR then ruled the penalty out because Havertz had strayed offside in the build-up. The former officials say that was the wrong call, and the reason is a distinction most fans have never heard: being in an offside position is not the same as committing an offside offence.

What happened to Kai Havertz against Hull?

Shortly before half-time, Havertz received a pass through a gap in the Hull defence and was pulled down by Mendy, who tugged his shirt and brought him to the ground inside the penalty area, Goal.com reports. Hallam pointed to the spot, and the Emirates celebrated, before VAR Michael Oliver instructed him to consult the pitchside monitor. After a review lasting several minutes, Hallam ruled out the foul because Havertz had been in an offside position and awarded Hull a free-kick instead, Football London reports.

Hallam then did something unusual: he explained the decision over the stadium microphones, telling the crowd that Havertz would have deserved a penalty but that he had ruled against it because of the offside position, Goal.com reports. Arsenal went on to win 1-0 through Martin Odegaard’s 72nd-minute strike, their fifth consecutive league win and ninth victory in 10 matches, but the first-half incident overshadowed the result.

Why did the referee rule out the penalty?

Because the officials treated an offside position as an offside offence. The VAR room established that Havertz had strayed offside in the build-up, and on that basis the foul could not result in a penalty, Football London reports. Hallam was informed that Mendy had pulled Havertz’s shirt, but because the Arsenal forward was deemed offside, the challenge was wiped out and Hull got the free-kick.

The problem is the order of events. Havertz was fouled the moment Mendy pulled him, before he had done anything with the ball. That timing is the whole argument, and it is why two former officials and the BBC’s rules expert all landed on the same side of it within hours of the final whistle.

Why do the former referees say it should have been a penalty?

Because the law draws a line the officials crossed. “The Offside Law is clear and a penalty kick should have been awarded,” Hackett wrote on X, Football London reports. Cann explained it on Match of the Day: “The foul should have taken precedence and it should have been a penalty kick rather than an offside. We can see that Kai Havertz is clearly in an offside position, he’s having his shirt pulled by Mendy but they’re not actually challenging for the ball.”

BBC rules expert Dale Johnson put it in the terms the law uses. “A player who is in an offside position only becomes active when he commits an offside offence,” he said, Goal.com reports. “Kai Havertz must have attempted to play the ball or challenged an opponent for it, otherwise, Nobel Mendy’s shirt pull takes precedence. The foul comes before any possible offside offence.” Havertz had done neither when Mendy brought him down, so there was no offside offence for the foul to compete with. Cann added the honest caveat that the law is ambiguous and hard to follow for officials as well as fans, and said he would personally prefer to prioritise the offside when a player moves towards the ball, but on the law as written, the penalty was the call.

Has this happened before?

Yes, and the precedent went the other way. Johnson pointed to Newcastle against Bournemouth two seasons ago, Goal.com reports, when Fabian Schar was in an offside position after a free-kick cross from outside the penalty area but did not actively become involved before being brought down inside the box. After a VAR review, Schar was awarded a penalty. The fact pattern is the same as the Havertz incident: offside position, no involvement, foul first. The difference is the outcome, and that is what makes this a story about consistency rather than a single bad call.

The precedent also answers the question of whether the officials were applying a settled rule or improvising one. They were not. The Schar decision shows the correct application, and the Havertz decision shows the same situation producing the opposite answer.

What did Arteta and Keown say about the process?

Arteta said he had deliberately avoided watching the incident, and his answer gave away that even the manager did not know the rule. “I don’t know, I haven’t watched it back, so I don’t have to lie to you guys,” he said, Football London reports. “I was surprised, because when they sent the referee to the monitor the bench was telling me that it’s a clear penalty, it’s pulling. I know they decided not to because the starting position of Kai was offside, so I don’t know what the interpretation is. I’m sure they will make that clear to understand it.”

Martin Keown attacked the process rather than the law. “He should never have been asked to go to the VAR monitor, should he?” he said on talkSPORT, Goal.com reports. “They should already have established whether he was offside. It’s ridiculous. Shouldn’t they have sorted all that out in the VAR room before asking the referee to look at it?” The point is procedural: if the offside had been settled first, Hallam would never have been sent to review a foul that the law says takes precedence. Brennan Johnson had a goal ruled out by a subjective offside at Hull earlier this season, and Everton have seen the same kind of call before, so Hull’s ground has already hosted one offside argument this season.

What happens next?

The FA and PGMOL have not issued a statement, and Arteta expects them to explain the interpretation. Until they do, the incident sits as an uncorrected error in a game Arsenal won anyway, which is the luckiest possible place for it to sit: the three points are safe, the six-point lead over Manchester City is intact, and the only thing at stake is whether the officials admit the mistake. Ryan Gravenberch’s red card split the verdicts the same way, with a harsh first yellow and a clear second, and Tomas Soucek won the ball outside the box and still saw QPR given a penalty, which West Ham are still waiting for answers on. Marc Cucurella once handed a referee his dropped red card during a sending-off, which shows how strange the area around a dismissal can get. Havertz, for his part, has now been caught offside 15 times this season, more than any other Premier League player, Goal.com reports, so the next time he strays beyond the last defender, the officials will have had a week to learn the difference between a position and an offence.