Referee explains Sesko handball decision in Liverpool’s defeat to Man United

“Sometimes it looks like they’re being a bit too forensic, and you hear, in this situation, the VAR looking from various angles. They want to get it right.

“If it does conclusively come off the arm, but they don’t get to that level of certainty, they probably think it probably does as well, but they need to be absolutely categorical to get involved, and they weren’t able to find it, and hence the reason that the on-field decision stood.”

Sesko Handball Debate Continues

Webb’s explanation may clarify the process, but it is unlikely to silence the wider debate surrounding the Sesko handball incident. For many observers, the footage appeared convincing enough to warrant intervention from VAR.

Under current IFAB laws, intent is irrelevant when a player scores immediately after the ball touches their hand or arm. Even accidental contact should lead to the goal being ruled out. That point has become central to the frustration felt by Liverpool supporters following the defeat.

Former referees have also offered differing interpretations. Some believe the evidence was sufficient to overturn the goal, while others argue the lack of a definitive camera angle justified sticking with the referee’s original call.

The controversy once again raises broader questions about the threshold VAR officials use when reviewing incidents involving handball. Football’s technology era was introduced to remove clear and obvious mistakes, yet subjective interpretation still dominates many of the game’s defining moments.

For Liverpool, the frustration was amplified by the significance of the result. A point gained at Old Trafford could yet prove crucial in the race for Champions League qualification.

Liverpool Left Frustrated By Fine Margins

Arne Slot’s side were far from blameless on the day. Liverpool surrendered possession cheaply in the build-up to Sesko’s goal and looked vulnerable defensively throughout the first half. Yet the handball controversy has overshadowed much of the tactical analysis since the final whistle.

Football has always lived in the space between certainty and chaos. That tension only intensifies when microscopic VAR reviews determine massive moments in elite competition.

What makes the Sesko handball incident particularly contentious is that Webb himself admitted he believed the ball “probably” touched the striker’s hand. The distinction came down entirely to proof rather than probability.

For supporters, that nuance can feel impossible to accept when slow-motion replays appear persuasive. For officials, however, the burden of certainty remains paramount under VAR protocol.

The debate is unlikely to disappear any time soon. Incidents involving Webb, Sesko and handball decisions continue to dominate Premier League discussion because they expose the uneasy balance between technology, interpretation and human judgement.

VAR Scrutiny Growing Across Premier League

The Premier League’s relationship with VAR remains uneasy despite repeated efforts to improve transparency. Releasing referee audio through programmes such as Match Officials Mic’d Up is intended to build understanding among supporters, but it can sometimes deepen controversy instead.

Hearing officials openly discuss uncertainty during reviews highlights just how difficult these calls can be in real time. It also reinforces how fine the margins have become in modern football.

Webb has consistently defended the principle that VAR should only intervene when evidence is conclusive. In the Sesko handball case, officials believed they lacked the certainty required to overturn the original decision.

Whether supporters agree is another matter entirely.

Liverpool must now focus on finishing the season strongly rather than dwelling on a result that cannot be changed. Yet moments like this linger because they shape perceptions of fairness, consistency and accountability across the Premier League.

For Webb, Sesko and everyone involved, the handball controversy has become another defining chapter in football’s endless argument over VAR.

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Rewrite that from a general PL perspective rather than with the focus on Liverpool, using the same parameters

Howard Webb Explains Why Benjamin Sesko Handball Goal Was Allowed To Stand

Webb Addresses Growing VAR Frustration

Howard Webb has delivered a detailed defence of the VAR process after the controversial Benjamin Sesko handball incident reignited debate around officiating standards in the Premier League.

The Manchester United striker found himself at the centre of scrutiny following his goal against Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier this month, with replays appearing to show the ball brushing his fingertips before crossing the line. Despite the apparent contact, the goal stood after VAR officials concluded there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field decision.

According to the original source report, the Premier League Match Centre account later stated that officials could not identify definitive proof of handball. Webb has now expanded on that explanation during the latest edition of Match Officials Mic’d Up on Sky Sports.

The PGMOL chief admitted the footage suggested possible contact but insisted the threshold for overturning a decision remains extremely high.

“I think it probably does hit the hand, but of course the VARs need that conclusivity. They need to be absolutely certain that it does, and it doesn’t matter what we think, does it? It matters what they think, and we do ask them to be sure that something needs acting upon.

“Clearly, Sesko doesn’t deliberately handle this. He doesn’t make himself bigger. It’s all very natural, but of course, the Laws of the Game require any goal that comes off the hand immediately, or where the player scores immediately after hitting the arm, then it has to be disallowed, and that means the VAR has no option but to start looking for that.

“Sometimes it looks like they’re being a bit too forensic, and you hear, in this situation, the VAR looking from various angles. They want to get it right.

“If it does conclusively come off the arm, but they don’t get to that level of certainty, they probably think it probably does as well, but they need to be absolutely categorical to get involved, and they weren’t able to find it, and hence the reason that the on-field decision stood.”

Sesko Handball Incident Highlights VAR Problem

The Sesko handball controversy has become another flashpoint in the wider conversation surrounding VAR consistency across the Premier League.

Modern football increasingly lives under forensic examination, where goals are dissected frame by frame and millimetres can determine the outcome of major matches. Yet despite all the available technology, interpretation still sits at the heart of many decisions.

Under current IFAB laws, any attacking handball directly before a goal should result in the effort being disallowed, regardless of intent. That aspect of the law has fuelled confusion among supporters and pundits who believed the replay angles showed sufficient evidence of contact.

What Webb’s explanation revealed is the distinction between probability and certainty. Officials may suspect contact occurred, but suspicion alone is not enough for VAR intervention.

That principle remains one of the most divisive aspects of modern officiating. Supporters often judge incidents emotionally through replay footage, while referees are required to operate within strict procedural thresholds.

The result is a system that can still produce controversy even when the process itself is technically followed correctly.

Premier League Officials Under Intense Scrutiny

Every major VAR decision now unfolds under enormous pressure, with referees aware that every replay angle will be analysed across television, social media and post-match discussion panels.

The release of referee audio through Match Officials Mic’d Up has been designed to improve transparency and understanding. In many ways, however, it also exposes the uncertainty and complexity behind elite-level officiating.

Webb’s comments offered rare honesty about the reality facing VAR officials. His admission that the ball “probably” touched Sesko’s hand was significant because it demonstrated how close the incident came to being overturned.

For many fans, that alone will feel difficult to reconcile with the final decision.

Yet from the officials’ perspective, the absence of definitive visual evidence meant there was no basis to intervene. VAR is intended to correct clear and obvious errors rather than reinterpret subjective moments without certainty.

That balance continues to divide opinion throughout the Premier League.

Debate Around Handball Laws Refuses To Fade

The Sesko handball episode also underlines the ongoing confusion surrounding football’s handball laws, which remain among the sport’s most heavily debated regulations.

Players, managers and supporters frequently struggle to understand where the line sits between accidental contact, natural body movement and punishable offence. Even former referees regularly disagree over interpretation.

As a result, incidents involving Webb, Sesko and handball decisions become symbolic of a larger frustration with football’s attempts to combine human judgement with technological precision.

The Premier League has spent years refining VAR protocols, but moments like this show the system remains imperfect. Transparency may improve understanding, yet it rarely removes disagreement.

What the controversy certainly achieved was another reminder that football’s biggest arguments are rarely settled by slow-motion replays alone.

Instead, they continue to live in the grey area between law, interpretation and opinion.