Imagine being in England’s position as the VAR in Stockley Park.
The pressure on the official must have been huge. He cannot hear the Sky commentary, he has no idea what public opinion is.
This is the referee who, in September 2023, was responsible for the biggest VAR mistake the Premier League has seen.
It was England who misinterpreted an on-field offside decision, causing a goal for Liverpool‘s Luis Diaz to be wrongly disallowed at Tottenham.
England had to fight his way back up to top-flight refereeing after that.
Today he was presented with a decision that could decide the fate of two clubs.
You can’t blame him for taking his time. He had to get this right.
England spent two minutes 41 seconds poring over every angle of the footage, checking the possible foul, the potential penalties.
We have seen pushing, shoving, grabbing and pulling on corners all season. Goalkeepers have been pressuring and harried too.
Is this different? Crucially, it was.
Arsenal have been the kings of it all season, crowding and surrounding goalkeepers at corners, finding ways to create space and score goals from set-pieces.
That they benefit from it in such a crucial way won’t be lost on some.
But it is hard to argue that the Spain international was not impeded. Without the foul contact by Pablo, Raya would surely have had a simple catch.
Pablo had his arm across Raya and he was holding on to the goalkeeper’s left arm too.
England checked the other possible fouls too, by Trossard on Pablo and Rice on Summerville.
Importantly, the first foul that had a direct impact on play was Pablo on Raya. You cannot give a penalty for a foul that may come after this.
England had to get that right – and he did.
Referee Kavanagh spent one minute 15 seconds at the monitor. He too would have known the consequences of his final decision.
In total, four minutes 11 seconds potentially deciding the title and the final relegation place.
If it takes that long, can it really be clear and obvious? That is the wrong way to look at it. With such a huge, season-defining call, take as long as necessary to make sure you are getting it right.
England will have spent the final few minutes of the game wondering if he’d made the right call.
There are no communications inside the VAR room, no mobile phones, no way of gauging if you’ve done the right thing.
Imagine the relief when he walks out of the room and is told he’s got it right, that Pablo has impacted Raya from playing the ball.
On Saturday, England will take charge of the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Chelsea.
That was unthinkable two and a half years ago. Now he’s got the landmark game on the football calendar – and he’s exorcised his VAR demons.
