Brighton were beaten 3-2 by the Blues
Brighton and Hove Albion's players and fans were left fuming after a little-known VAR rule denied them the chance to potentially score an equaliser.
Roberto De Zerbi's side were beaten 3-2 by Chelsea on Sunday, which included Enzo Fernandez's first two goals for the club.
Joao Pedro had reduced the deficit in stoppage time and it appeared that the Seagulls would be walking away with a point in the dying stages after Craig Pawson pointed to the spot.
But after a VAR check that was looked at on the monitor by Craig Pawson, he decided that Levi Colwill hadn't handled the ball, with replays showing it had hit his face before going out for a corner kick.
Brighton fans frustrated by VAR rule
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 both confusion and anger from Brighton fans, who thought they would be given a corner instead and one last chance to try and equalise. Following the game,
Roberto De Zebri commented:
"Before the penalty, we played very well. With passion, with ideas. I wouldn’t want to speak about referees. The referees are good people and they can make mistakes. The boss of the referees will know what they will do. It’s not my business."
Although referee Craig Pawson correctly abided by the laws of the game, it didn't stop fans complaining on X.
"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!" said one fan.
Another commented: "We didn't even get a corner wtf is this corruption?
"ANOTHER UTTER SHAMBLES!!!!" added a third.
