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Ex-Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has commented that VAR couldn't look into the clash involving Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, as the footage wasn’t available during the match. He noted that following the 1-1 draw, where Nuno Espirito Santo's team had already been down to 10 men due to James Ward-Prowse's second yellow card for handling the ball and halting a Chelsea break, the Football Association might step in after the new angle came to light.
The skirmish unfolded in the dying minutes of Sunday's game against Nottingham Forest after Marc Cucurella was pushed by Neco Williams near the Chelsea bench. Referee Chris Kavanagh dished out three yellow cards: to Neco Williams, Marc Cucurella and Levi Colwill for their involvement.
A different camera angle later revealed a face-off between Jackson and Forest's Brazilian defender Morato.
Speaking with Sky Sports, Gallagher explained that the alternate viewpoint of the supposed incident hadn't been accessible to the Video Assistant Referees at the time, which is why the FA may now have to address the situation. Gallagher detailed the reason referees often stay clear from such bust-ups: "If you get in the middle of it, you have two problems, you're at risk of being struck yourself, if the player strikes you - he has a problem," and added, "It might be accidental but it won't exonerate it. Secondly, you can see who comes in as an aggressor and who comes in as a peacemaker. There's a lot of mileage in standing back, you pick out what you can."
"This falls in line with once your colleagues have swept up, the FA can pick up. This angle (of Jackson) wasn't shown, I know I was watching what the VAR was watching, there's an argument that the VAR haven't checked it because they couldn't see it. It's a new angle, it's up to the FA what to do," reports Football London.