Sunderland's disputed penalty against Arsenal was wrong, says panel

Sept 23 : Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's anger over a penalty awarded to Sunderland earlier this month was partly vindicated after the Premier League's independent review panel concluded the spot kick should not have been given.

The league's five-member Key Match Incidents (KMI) Panel unanimously ruled that referee John Brooks made the wrong on-field call when he awarded Sunderland a penalty in Arsenal's 2-0 win after defender Ezri Konsa was judged to have fouled Dan Ballard during a corner.

Arteta described the decision as "unacceptable" after the match, although Arsenal escaped unscathed when goalkeeper David Raya pushed Enzo Le Fee's penalty onto the post in the 55th minute.

"The panel unanimously felt that the referee's call of a penalty for a holding offence was incorrect," the panel said in its report.

"Although it was a very untidy challenge in which Konsa initially had arms around Ballard, Ballard engages in a holding action which pulls Konsa onto him so they both fall to the floor."

However, the panel backed VAR's decision not to recommend an on-field review.

"The non-VAR intervention was supported, 3:2, with the majority considering that the on-field decision was not a clear and obvious error, given the combined actions from both players," it said.

The KMI Panel is an independent body comprising three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative and one representative from Pro Ref, the organisation responsible for refereeing in England.

The reigning champions Arsenal sit second in the Premier League standings after a 3-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, and will host Leeds United on October 10 after the international break.