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Refereeing chief Howard Webb has contacted Arsenal and Brighton to acknowledge that "significant errors" by VAR officials had robbed them of goals on a contentious weekend for Premier League officiating.

Officials failed to consider whether Christian Norgaard was offside in teeing up Ivan Toney for Brentford's crucial equaliser whilst Pervis Estupinan was denied a goal against Crystal Palace because offside lines were drawn from the wrong player.

"PGMOL can confirm its Chief Refereeing Officer Howard Webb has contacted both Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion to acknowledge and explain the significant errors in the VAR process in their respective Premier League fixtures on Saturday," said the refereeing body. "Both incidents, which were due to human error and related to the analysis of offside situations, are being thoroughly reviewed by PGMOL."

Lines go missing at Arsenal

Video official Lee Mason allowed Toney's equalizer to stand on Saturday because the video assistant referee forgot to draw the necessary offside lines as part of his checks. Mason did not check whether Norgaard had been beyond the last defender when he crossed for his teammate to score an equalizer that could have a sizeable impact on the title race. A lengthy VAR check was undertaken on an earlier aspect of the move where Ethan Pinnock, who also appeared to be in an offside position, grappled with Gabriel off Matthias Jensen's free kick.

That is what is understood to have drawn Mason's attention and he subsequently did not draw offside lines for Norgaard's cross for Toney. Had he done so he would have concluded that the Brentford midfielder was offside and Arsenal could have hung on for three decisive points. The mistake has been put down to human error by PGMOL, the body that manages referees in the English game, who under Webb intend to be more transparent with regards to the most notable mistakes that are made in games.

After the draw Arteta had insisted that the goal should also have been chalked off due to Pinnock's blocking of Gabriel while in an offside position.

"I just looked back and it is offside," Arteta said. "They will probably give an explanation later in the week but today we have not got one. 

"You have to apply certain principles in defending and you do that by sticking to the rules. Suddenly you change the rules, and then you have to change your principles. So, tell us before. Then you don't hold the line that high, because you are always going to have a disadvantage if you get blocked."

Arsenal might equally reflect on a game where they themselves struggled to create enough chances to insure themselves against forces beyond their control. The Gunners had at least five opportunities to clear the ball before Toney turned it in while at the other end they created few clear-cut chances aside from Leandro Trossard's opener. One might also point to Brentford registering two expected goals to Arsenal's 1.6, though it should be noted that almost half of the visitors' tally did come from Toney's goal that shouldn't have stood. Arsenal's mistakes -- and Mason's -- could be punished by Manchester City on Sunday; a win over Aston Villa would move them within three points of the league leaders, who they could then leapfrog on Wednesday in the top-of-the-table clash at the Emirates Stadium.

It may be the error that has the most outsized impact on the Premier League this season but Mason had company when it came to making mistakes.

Estupinan misses out

In a hard-fought battle between two rivals, Estupinan thought he had fired Brighton ahead of Crystal Palace when he picked up Solly March's pass and clipped the ball over Vicente Guaita. A first goal in English football for the left-back was soon struck off with lines drawn from James Tomkins when it should have been Marc Guehi who acted as the reference point for VAR John Brooks. Had these lines been drawn correctly Estupinan's goal would have stood.

"As was confirmed to the club by PGMOL last night, a serious error was made in disallowing Pervis Estupinan's goal at Crystal Palace yesterday afternoon," a Brighton statement on Sunday said. "The lines drawn in the VAR room to determine whether Pervis was in an offside position were drawn incorrectly, and the goal should have stood. While hugely disappointed by the error, the club has accepted PGMOL's apology and will not be making any further comment."

Chelsea denied clear penalty

Chelsea were denied what seemed to be a cast iron penalty when Tomas Soucek blocked a shot with his hand late in the 1-1 draw at West Ham United. It occurred in the 89th minute when Conor Gallagher's low shot down to the right hit the midfielder's hand, resulting in Chelsea players quickly protesting the no-call. It seemed likely that a proper VAR review would take place, but it never came with play carrying on soon after. 

"I thought it was a good save so you need your goalkeeper sometimes to get you the points," Chelsea boss Graham Potter joked. "It hasn't been given so there's nothing for me to say." 

Though most would say that officials had made a mistake in not changing the onfield decision, Webb did not contact Chelsea as the decision by Craig Pawson and VAR Neil Swarbrick was a subjective decision rather than a matter of errors in the process as the Arsenal and Brighton incidents were.