Rio Ferdinand admits feeling 'confused' by how referees use VAR and insists Arsenal DID deserve a penalty for Ederson's challenge on Martin Odegaard during narrow defeat by Manchester City

Daily Mail | January 1, 2022

Rio Ferdinand admitted to being left 'confused' by VAR after two contentious penalty decisions went against Arsenal in their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.

They were denied a spot-kick during the first-half when Martin Odegaard went over in the box when challenged by City goalkeeper Ederson.

VAR official Jarred Gillett took a long look at replays before agreeing with on-field referee Stuart Attwell that Ederson had got a toe to the ball before his contact with Odegaard. Attwell didn't consult the pitchside screen on that occasion.

Arsenal didn't get a penalty when Martin Odegaard went down under challenge from Man City goalkeeper Ederson during the first-half with Stuart Attwell not checking the VAR monitor

But Attwell was advised to check the screen and overturned his original decision when Bernardo Silva was brought down by Granit Xhaka, leading to City's penalty equaliser

BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand was left confused by the inconsistent application of VAR

And Arsenal's sense of injustice only deepened in the second-half when Bernardo Silva was brought down by Granit Xhaka's shirt tug, with Attwell this time overturning his initial 'no penalty' decision after consulting the VAR monitor.