Howard Webb has acknowledged a clear error after a Fulham goal was disallowed during Saturday’s 2–0 defeat to Chelsea. The outcome stood and Chelsea went on to win, but the decision sparked immediate criticism and prompted action from PGMOL.

PGMOL removed the VAR official Michael Salisbury from the same role for Sunday’s Liverpool v Arsenal fixture. Webb addressed the incident on Match Officials Mic’d Up and said the VAR protocol in place was not applied correctly.

“It wasn’t controversial, it was wrong,” he said.

Webb reiterated the principles that guide VAR use in the Premier League and how officials are instructed to operate at a high threshold for intervention. He emphasised that on-field decisions should normally stand unless the evidence is very clear.

“We’ve established some principles in terms of how we officiate in the Premier League and how we use VAR. They sit around a high threshold for penalising contact, aiding the flow, rhythm and tempo of the game. We’ve also established a high bar for intervention with VAR.

“In other words, if situations are not clearly wrong and the referee has made a call on the field, that call will stand or at least should stand. That’s the message we give to all of our VARs, particularly when we come to taking away goals that are obviously a crucial moment in the game.

“We should only be taking goals away when the evidence is very clear that’s the only thing we can do and that’s the guidance we give to our officials.

“In this situation, that guidance wasn’t followed properly. There was a misjudgement by the officials involved in this situation about how that contact happened between Muniz and Chalobah. The officials got super-focused on that contact, without looking at the full context of how it happened.

“It happens when Muniz is in possession of the ball, controls the ball, turns naturally and brings his foot down on to Chalobah, who’s moved his foot into a space which the Fulham player has the right to put his foot into in that normal way.”

The disallowed Fulham effort and Webb’s admission generated anger in the public debate. Premier League figure Alan Shearer expressed his frustration on The Rest Is Football, exclaiming: “What the f— are they thinking?”

Tyrique George will remain at Chelsea after a late move to Fulham collapsed on transfer deadline day. Fabrizio Romano reported the deal collapsed and George will now be part of Chelsea’s Champions League squad. According to Jacob Steinberg, Fulham’s inability to find a new home for Harry Wilson contributed to the switch falling through.

The 19-year-old made his professional debut last season and appeared 26 times across all competitions in the 2024–25 campaign. George featured primarily on either wing and even operated as a false nine during Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League run. He finished last season with five assists and three goals, including an equaliser against Fulham that helped kickstart Chelsea’s push for Champions League qualification.

George’s playing time had looked under pressure after the arrivals of Jamie Gittens and Estêvão earlier in the window. That situation reportedly prompted the youngster to push for an exit, a dynamic that was exacerbated when Alejandro Garnacho arrived from Manchester United and pushed George further down the pecking order.

Chelsea had been open to both loan and permanent offers for the winger, and there were other suitors, namely Roma, interested in his services. Despite that interest, the club preferred to keep him within the Premier League.

George made his season debut at the weekend when he replaced the injured Liam Delap in Chelsea’s 2–0 victory over Fulham. With the late collapse of the Fulham move, Chelsea have retained a versatile young option on the flanks and within their European squad for the season ahead.

The immediate outcome is that George remains at Stamford Bridge as the squad prepares for the challenges of both domestic competition and the Champions League. The transfer market drama on deadline day leaves the young winger’s short-term future settled at Chelsea.

Chelsea left Stamford Bridge unbeaten ahead of the September international break after a 2-0 victory over west London neighbours Fulham, but the match offered as many questions as answers for Enzo Maresca.

Video assistant referee intervention shaped large portions of the contest. Chelsea teenager Joshua King had a well-taken opener ruled out after the VAR instructed referee Rob Jones to review an incident in the build-up. There was lengthy deliberation over Rodrigo Muniz’s perceived foul on Trevoh Chalobah, and a slow-motion replay prompted Jones to describe Muniz’s infringement as “careless” when explaining his decision.

On the same sequence of decisions, Fulham manager Marco Silva was visibly furious and sought an explanation at half-time. There was also contention around Chelsea’s second goal, with referee Jones seemingly overlooking João Pedro’s handball in the build-up to Ryan Sessegnon’s penalised handball, which stopped Chalobah’s cross. The time taken to reach those conclusions and the frequency of interventions left the game feeling strained by the technology.

Player welfare emerged as another concern after Liam Delap suffered a hamstring problem just 15 minutes into the match. The striker clutched his left hamstring, attempted to walk it off, then sat on the turf before being withdrawn. Chelsea will hope he recovers during the international break, because options up front are limited.

Tyrique George replaced Delap and was asked to operate as a centre forward. George has been linked with a late move in the window, but Delap’s injury and George’s ability to fill in as a No. 9 suggest Chelsea may keep the Cobham graduate. The club have parted ways with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku has joined AC Milan. Given how much they’ve spent since BlueCo got involved, it is notable how thin the striker depth chart looks.

João Pedro grew into the game and finished the first half with a headed goal from Fernández’s corner. He has recorded four goal contributions through three league outings this term and is now one of four players to score at least five goals in their first five Chelsea games. With Delap sidelined and Cole Palmer due back after the break, Pedro is likely to lead the line.