Five fouls in one move - breaking down Premier League corner chaos

Jarrod Bowen stood over the ball by the corner flag. There was so much going on in the penalty area as he delivered a cross. A melee ensued before Callum Wilson blasted a shot over the line. Salvation for the Hammers? Enter the video assistant referee, Darren England. You cannot blame the VAR for taking his time. This was such a huge moment with five potential fouls buried among the bodies. Whatever decision England made was going to be the subject of intense scrutiny. Let's break it down step-by-step, consider the potential fouls and what the VAR would be looking for. Soucek on Havertz In the chronology of fouls, this was the first potential incident. The two players were at the near post, with Kai Havertz in front facing the ball. Tomas Soucek was climbing over the back of the Germany international. As the ball was in the air, the Arsenal forward ended up on the floor with Soucek on top of him. The VAR will take into account that the players were not in the area where the ball was going to land - Havertz was not going to be prevented from playing it. That Soucek was was facing the ball goes in his favour, too. All in all, the VAR would have allowed this to go. Odegaard on Tobido A straight-forward situation to judge. Both Martin Odegaard and Jean-Clair Todibo were engaged in mutual holding. When this is the case no one party is judged to be committing an offence - essentially, they are both as bad as each other. …