PGMOL Chief Webb Stands by VAR Decision on Gordon Goal 

Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon celebrates after the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC in Newcastle, Britain, 04 November 2023. (EPA)
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon celebrates after the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC in Newcastle, Britain, 04 November 2023. (EPA)
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PGMOL Chief Webb Stands by VAR Decision on Gordon Goal 

Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon celebrates after the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC in Newcastle, Britain, 04 November 2023. (EPA)
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon celebrates after the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC in Newcastle, Britain, 04 November 2023. (EPA)

Referees body (PGMOL) chief Howard Webb said there was no conclusive evidence available for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to disallow Anthony Gordon's goal for Newcastle United against Arsenal earlier this month.

Gordon's goal at St James' Park on Nov. 4 was allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR review to check if the ball went out of play, whether there was a foul in the build-up and for offside.

Arteta gave a scathing assessment of the match officials after the 1-0 defeat ended their unbeaten run in the league, with Arsenal backing the Spaniard's stance.

"We know the ball is curved, so it can be over-hanging the line and we need evidence it's out, and we don't have that here," Webb told Match Officials Mic'd Up on Tuesday.

"The ball then comes over and Joelinton challenges Gabriel (Magalhaes), and it could be a foul, might be a foul. The VAR decides that the evidence from the footage isn't clear enough to intervene with a recommendation for a review for a clear error.

"So again, no conclusive evidence that Gordon was offside when the ball was last touched. The VAR went through that diligently and identified no clear evidence to intervene to overturn the goal. The process was actually correct."

However, Webb said VAR fell short during Wolverhampton Wanderers game against Newcastle last month.

Newcastle were awarded a penalty following a challenge by Wolves' Hwang Hee-chan on Fabian Schar, a decision Wolves manager Gary O'Neil labelled "scandalous".

"We feel this is a situation that reaches the threshold for a clear and obvious error even though there is contact and the ball isn't played by Hwang," Webb said. "VAR didn't quite get there and, in our opinion, should have done."



Arsenal, Man City and Bayern Advance to Women's Champions League Quarterfinals

Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024.  EPA/NEIL HALL
Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024. EPA/NEIL HALL
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Arsenal, Man City and Bayern Advance to Women's Champions League Quarterfinals

Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024.  EPA/NEIL HALL
Arsenal celebrate after scoring the 1-0 goal during the UEFA Women's Champions League soccer match between Arsenal Women and Juventus Women at the Emirates Stadium in London, Britain, 21 November 2024. EPA/NEIL HALL

Arsenal, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all advanced to the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with with two games to spare on Thursday, The Associated Press reported.
Late substitute Lina Hurtig scored the winner in Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Juventus in London.
Khadija Shaw scored twice for City in a 2-1 win at Swedish club Hammarby. City stayed perfect in Group D with four victories and reached the last eight for the first time since 2021.
Bayern Munich was held 1-1 at Vålerenga in Norway and still earned a quarterfinal berth after Juventus' loss.
Arsenal, Bayern and City join Chelsea, Lyon and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Two-time defending champion Barcelona routed Austrian champion St. Pölten 4-1. The Catalan club trails City by three points in their group and is in a strong position to advance.
Bayern tops Group C with 10 points, Arsenal has nine followed by Juventus (3) and Vålerenga (1).
Back to winning Man City responded to its first loss of the season, 2-0 at Chelsea in the Women's Super League on Saturday.
Still without injured star Vivianne Miedema, Shaw took charge, proving her scoring instincts after half an hour.
The forward scored from inside the penalty area with a deflected shot that flew over goalkeeper Anna Tamminen to frustrate more than 20,000 noisy fans at the Stockholm Arena in the Swedish capital.
Ellen Wangerheim equalized soon after the interval from close range to rejuvenate the crowd but Shaw struck again to restore the lead just minutes later.
This time, she delivered a powerful right-footed finish from the edge of the area.
Bayern and Harder contained Bayern dominated possession but could not translate it into goals until the 75th minute. It had to rely on substitute Jovana Damnjanović, who gave the visitors a late lead after connecting on a pass from Giulia Gwinn.
The Norwegians, who have retained their domestic title, equalized in the 88th on Elise Thorsnes' header following a corner.
Pernille Harder, who found the back of the net five times for Bayern in the previous three games, could not do it again on Thursday and was substituted.
Hurtig's night Hurtig came on with 10 minutes remaining and made her presence immediately felt with several headers.
She finally made the breakthrough with a minute remaining in regulation, tapping in from close range after Juventus’ poor clearance of a low cross by Stina Blackstenius.
Hurtig won the Italian title with Juventus in 2021 and 2022 before joining the Gunners.
Juventus seemed to learn a lesson from its 4-0 loss to Arsenal last week as its defense held firm till Hurtig’s arrival.
Putellas scores her 200th Barcelona goal In an 11-minute span in the first half, Francisca Nazareth netted twice and 18-year-old Vicky Lopez scored once to put Barcelona in control.
Nazareth's double was followed by Lopez hitting the third with a shot high into the net for her first Champions League goal.
Alexia Putellas made it 4-0 in the second half, finishing a fast attack that tore apart the defense in Vienna. It was her 200th goal for Barcelona and the 100th the club scored in the Champions League’s group stage.
Valentina Mädl, an 18-year-old forward, netted a consolation goal for the hosts.
Barcelona has scored 20 goals in its past three games and can still become the first club to win its group in all four years since the introduction of the format.