Wolverhampton Wanderers‘ Fabio Silva found himself overcome with emotion after conceding a late penalty against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday.
In the 11th Premier League match of the season, Sheffield United clinched their first victory, with Oliver Norwood successfully converting a penalty in the 100th minute. The penalty was awarded when Wolves’ substitute Silva was judged to have committed a foul on George Baldock inside the penalty box.
As Norwood struck the decisive penalty, the final whistle blew, and Silva was visibly moved to tears. Silva’s challenge on Baldock led to the penalty, as he collided with the Sheffield United full-back.
Despite VAR intervening with video replays that seemed to suggest Baldock was already falling to the ground at the point of contact, the video review ultimately upheld the referee’s on-field decision, and the penalty was awarded.
Earlier in the game, Cameron Archer scored a remarkable goal that struck the underside of the crossbar, giving Sheffield United the lead. However, Wolves managed to level the score in the 89th minute thanks to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s deflected shot.
Injury time witnessed VAR reviewing two penalty incidents. The first, a handball by Mario Lemina, was not given by either the referee or VAR. The second incident involved Silva’s challenge on Baldock, which resulted in the penalty.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean, commenting on the penalty decision, said, “From a referee’s perspective, when you slow it down, Silva’s foot landed on the top of Baldock’s toes. It may be considered a soft penalty, but there was contact. The referee correctly awarded the penalty, and VAR would not have overturned it. In my opinion, there was more contact in this penalty decision than last week’s.”
While it’s certainly a topic for debate, this penalty decision doesn’t appear to be as controversial as a VAR decision that went against Wolves in the previous week. In that case, Hwang-hee Chan was deemed to have fouled Fabian Schar of Newcastle in the penalty area, despite replays showing no contact between the two players. As a result, the referee for that match, Anthony Taylor, was demoted to the Championship.
