A-League referees advisor says VAR made right call on Leigh Broxham handball
It was an incident that could have changed the course of the Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory clash. It all came down to VAR interpretation of ‘unnatural position.’
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A-League referees advisor Strebre Delovski says the VAR made the correct call in upholding referee Kurt Ams’ decision not to award Brisbane Roar a penalty in the dying stages of their 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory.
With the Roar chasing an equaliser on Friday night, Brisbane midfielder Stefan Mauk was first to a ball ahead of Victory veteran Leigh Broxham.
Mauk’s shot struck a stretching Broxham in the arm, leading to calls for a penalty.
Ams waved played on, with the decision upheld on inspection by the VAR.
Roar coach Robbie Fowler wanted clarification about the decision, saying if Broxham’s arm was “in an unnatural position, then it’s a penalty”.
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However, Delovski explained to The Sunday Mail that Broxham’s arm was in a natural position because he was stretching for the ball,
“Broxham was in the process of playing the ball and he’s stretching,” Delovski said.
“When he’s stretching like that, his arms cannot possibly be by his side. Physics tells you it’s not possible in real time.
“We consider that to be a natural position. He’s not making himself unnaturally bigger by stretching for the ball.
“However if he was standing still and he had his arms there, then he’s unnaturally bigger, and then that should have been a penalty.”
Delovski admitted it was a close call and that if Ams had pointed to the spot, the penalty would have stood on VAR inspection.
“Whether the penalty was given or not given, it was not a clear and obvious error, so the decision would not have been overturned by VAR,” he said.
It’s a tough pill for Fowler and the Roar to swallow after an improved second-half display following another poor start which cost them a goal in the 19th minute when Andrew Nabbout struck for the visitors.
It means the Roar will still be chasing their first A-League win under Fowler when they visit Bankwest Stadium next Saturday to meet Western Sydney Wanderers.
Fowler is likely to resist the temptation to bring powerful Welsh forward Aaron Amadi-Holloway into Brisbane’s starting line-up next weekend despite his again causing problems with his height and strength for the second successive game off the bench.
Amadi-Holloway missed most of the pre-season with a hamstring injury, with Fowler fearing the 26-year-old former Shrewsbury Town attacker will “blow a gasket early doors” if he’s not fully match-fit.
“He’s a big player, he’s a strong player, he’s probably a player that this league hasn’t got,” Fowler said.
“He can be a real handful, he’s actually good on the floor, he’s good in the air, he’s a real tower of strength … we need to try to get him match-fit as quick as possible.
“We need to monitor him pretty well and try to get him right pretty soon.”
Originally published as A-League referees advisor says VAR made right call on Leigh Broxham handball