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The VAR Review: Why Everton's penalty vs. Man United was canceled

Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League. But how are decisions made and are they correct?

After each weekend we take a look at the major incidents, to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.

In this week's VAR Review: Why Everton's overturned penalty against Manchester United is not as straightforward as you might think. Plus, a possible penalty for Aston Villa against Chelsea and red cards for Myles Lewis-Skelly and Illia Zabarnyi.


Everton 2-2 Man United

Possible penalty overturn: Challenge by Maguire on Young

What happened: Three minutes into stoppage time, a shot by Idrissa Gueye was saved by André Onana. As Ashley Young moved toward the rebound, he went down and appealed for a penalty. Referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot for a foul by Harry Maguire, which was checked by the VAR, Matt Donohue.

VAR decision: Penalty canceled.

VAR review: It was the big controversy of the weekend, with Manchester United rescued from almost certain defeat as the VAR stepped in to cancel a penalty to Everton.

Did the referee really make a clear and obvious error, or did the VAR overstep?

The answer lies within the context of the on-field decision, and once you know the process it makes much more sense.

It has to be separated into two parts -- and that's what's not immediately apparent.