Brighton players left frustrated by little-known rule hindering late draw

Brighton's players and supporters were left fuming after a little-known VAR rule cost the Seagulls a late corner when pressing for an equaliser at Chelsea on Sunday.

An Enzo Fernandez brace helped the Blues to a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge, but a stoppage time goal from Joao Pedro had reduced the deficit, and there was further drama when referee Craig Pawson appeared to give the Seagulls a penalty.

However, a VAR check led to Pawson consulting the screen, and judging that Levi Colwill - formerly at Brighton as a loan player - was not guilty of handball, with the ball hitting his face before going out for a corner kick.

VAR rules mean that action restarts from a drop ball after a reversed VAR call, and not a continuation in play from where the action stopped.

This led to some frustration among the Brighton players, who were denied an opportunity to try and snatch an equaliser from the set piece.

Pawson applied the rules correctly in this instance - but it did not prevent some fans online from complaining about 'corruption'.

One fan took to X (formerly Twitter) to write: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!!?????

'VAR (WRONGLY) SUGGEST ON-FIELD REVIEW FOR HANDBALL. Not given (fine) but the ball went out for our corner to us!! But the ref restarts with a drop ball!

'ANOTHER UTTER SHAMBLES!!!!'

Another user of the platform had to explain the situation, which is not common knowledge among football fans. They wrote: 'Unfortunately that is the law now. Any penalty overturned by VAR will result in a drop ball to the keeper'.

A third added: 'We didn't even get a corner wtf is this corruption?'

However, other users were more understanding of Pawson's application of the law, noting: 'The referee made the right call. Brighton fans should shut their mouth'.

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