CONFIRMED
BBC Sport reports the panel judged Crystal Palace’s elbow-assisted goal against Nottingham Forest an on-field mistake. Meanwhile, viral claims of a PGMOL apology over Gravenberch’s red card have found no verification.
What we know
The Premier League confirmed the Round 6 outcomes on 21 October 2026. There were 18 Referee KMIs across the round. The panel deemed 89% of on-field decisions correct and backed both VAR overturns.
At Hull, Everton’s 34th-minute goal was given on the field and then chalked off after a trip to the monitor. Roundtable.io names Michael Salisbury as referee and Tim Wood as VAR. The Premier League’s reasoning: Johnson was in an offside position when Armstrong shot, and he committed an offence by challenging Giles for the ball. That sits squarely within Law 11. A player in an offside position offends by interfering with an opponent, and challenging an opponent for the ball counts. Four of five panellists agreed.
At Selhurst Park, Palace beat Forest 3-1. Dan Ndoye opened for Forest and Kamada equalised. Just before half-time, Lerma’s header deflected off Anan Khalaili’s elbow and went in. BBC Sport reports the panel voted 3:2 that referee Peter Bankes got it wrong, but was unanimous that VAR Darren England was right not to step in. Law 12 is blunt on this one. A goal that goes in directly off an attacker’s hand or arm is an offence, even if the contact is accidental. Pino later added Palace’s third.
On Gravenberch, an AOL headline reads “No mistake over Gravenberch red card – panel”. ESPN’s VAR review also called the second yellow correct. That booking came in the 62nd minute for a foul on Doku in Liverpool’s 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City on 11 October. ESPN added that Gravenberch could feel aggrieved by his first booking, for a challenge on Elliot Anderson. Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola said that foul was never a yellow card, per ESPN and Tribuna. Sky Sports noted Haaland scored 2 minutes 37 seconds after the dismissal.
What is rumored
Viral posts on X claimed PGMOL admitted an error and apologised to Liverpool over the red card. Posts presented as Jamie Carragher’s reaction spread alongside them. This was single-source social media material, grade D. Tribuna.com found no verified evidence of any admission, rescinded card or apology, and another X post called the statement fake. Treat it as debunked.
What we don’t know yet
The Premier League’s published reasoning on Everton reflects the majority view. The dissenting panellist felt Giles had made a deliberate attempt to clear the ball before Johnson made contact, which would have reset the offside phase and meant the goal should have stood. Offside interference is a judgment call about whether a challenge actually affects an opponent. That is where a sensible minority can land differently.
Nor do we know the individual votes on Palace beyond the 3:2 split. Johnson’s own history matters too. Roundtable.io called this the second time in a few games that Everton have lost a goal because of him.
What it means
The Palace verdict is the subtle one, so get it right. The goal was not cleared on all counts. The panel said the referee erred, and only that VAR’s decision to stay out was defensible. On-field wrong, VAR not wrong: both can be true.
Panels and commissions can also disagree. The panel backed 3:2 the VAR call that Pascal Struijk’s 57th-minute challenge on Wilson Isidor was a DOGSO red. The Independent reported that an independent regulatory commission later rescinded his suspension. The Premier League says the two are separate bodies with different purposes and processes.
The wider trend is upbeat. The Premier League reports 114 Referee KMIs across Rounds 1 to 6. On-field accuracy stands at 89%, up from 86% at this stage last season, and rises to 98% after VAR. Results now drop weekly on the league’s website and app, so the next argument is never far away.
