New Footage Reveals Williams Handball, Yet VAR Debate Persists

Much of the commentary surrounding the incident has focused on the VAR lacking evidence of a clear and obvious error as the basis for disallowing the goal.

Glasner referenced this point, and Williams also addressed it in a post on X.

However, clear and obvious errors only apply to subjective incidents—those requiring the referee to consult the pitchside monitor for a review.

Factual interventions, such as handball preceding a goal, are evidence-based decisions made by the VAR.

If the VAR determines there is proof of an offence, the goal will be disallowed.

Despite Forest’s protests, many observers believe the handball is visible, and Bankes was evidently among those who saw it.

This highlights a persistent issue with VAR: even factual interventions remain inherently subjective, representing one official’s judgment that others may contest.

A comparable example is Benjamin Sesko’s goal for Manchester United against Liverpool last season.

The ball appeared to graze the fingertips of the Slovenian striker before entering the goal, but VAR Stuart Attwell concluded he could not be certain and permitted the goal to stand.

Referees’ chief Howard Webb later acknowledged that the ball “probably does hit the hand” but noted that “VARs need to see that conclusively.”

Attwell did not feel he possessed sufficient proof, whereas Bankes did.

During pre-season media briefings, Webb indicated that attacking handball was one law he would seek to revise, which would prevent goals like Williams’ from being ruled out based solely on the initial footage.

“The problem is the law forces VARs on every goal to examine which body part the ball struck,” Webb stated.

“If you were only to penalise when the attacker deliberately handles the ball or makes himself unjustifiably big—and avoid that forensic scrutiny—you could ‘check complete’ it more swiftly.

“It is a law I would definitely look to change. Pro Ref and the Premier League are going to try and lobby for that to be amended.”

VAR is being administered with a lighter approach this season. Thus far, there have been only two subjective interventions at 0.06 per game, compared to 0.15 last season.

Nonetheless, the generally negative perception of VAR and the partisan nature of football ensure that its involvement in pivotal incidents draws considerable scrutiny.

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