AFC BOURNEMOUTH’S stoppage time would-be winner against Newcastle shouldn’t have been disallowed, the PGMOL chief has said.

Howard Webb, speaking on Match Officials Mic’d Up on Sky Sports, said there was a ‘lack of conclusive evidence’ to rule out Dango Ouattara’s dramatic late would-be winner.

The game stood at 1-1 at the time, when the Burkina Faso international scored from a Cherries corner in added time.

But VAR Tim Robinson told referee David Coote to rule it out, with Andoni Iraola left frustrated to a decision he did not agree with. 

However, Webb said Coote’s on-field decision should have stood as it contravenes a new ‘referee’s call’ policy the PGMOL have introduced.

“The referee's on-field call is 'goal' and the officials on the field didn't see any reason to disallow this goal,” Webb said on Sky Sports.

“We know all goals are checked by the VAR to see if there's any reason why the goal can't be awarded. One of those reasons is if the ball directly hits the attacker's arm and goes directly in the goal and scores immediately.

“In this situation, the ball strikes Ouattara somewhere [in the] shoulder, upper arm area. It's hard to be totally conclusive as to exactly where.

“The VAR looked at it and decided, in his professional opinion, that it hits the area of the arm that has to be penalised below the bottom of the arm pit.

(Image: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire)

“That's the importance reference point. I don't think that's conclusive enough to intervene.

“Equally, if the goal had been disallowed by the officials for handball, I don't think there's evidence to say there's no handball.

“So it goes back to 'referee's call'. It's an important concept. And for those factual matters, you need evidence that's very clear that the on-field call is wrong. I don't think we have it here.

“In the absence of real conclusive evidence, we want the VAR to stay out of that and not get themselves involved. Even though that could be a handball offence.”

Referee’s call will see a similar system to that of cricket’s umpire’s call – where a decision is not clear either way, so it stays with whatever call was made by the on field referee or umpire.

Webb also clarified the handball rule – saying it is not the bottom of the sleeve but bottom of the armpit.