VAR review: Why VAR was right to overturn Liverpool’s penalty vs. PSG

Video assistant referee causes controversy every week whether it be the Premier League, Champions League or FA Cup, but how are decisions made and are they correct?

This season, we take a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game.

Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a Premier League matchday.

Referee: Maurizio MarianiVAR: Marco Di BelloTime: 64 minutesIncident: VAR penalty overturn.

What happened: When PSG defender Willian Pacho appeared to bundle into the back of Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, referee Mariani pointed to the spot to award the home side a penalty.

Liverpool think they have a penalty, but the referee Maurizio Mariani overturns it after reviewing the pitch side monitor 📺❌ pic.twitter.com/njo901ILRw

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 14, 2026

VAR review: Having reviewed the replays, the VAR felt that there was no evidence of a foul by Pacho, citing that any contact that resulted in Mac Allister going to ground was in fact instigated by the Liverpool midfielder himself.

VAR recommended an on-field review for a possible overturn of the original decision. However, TV viewers were left a bit confused as they were shown a shot of the wrong penalty area when Mariani was sent to the pitch-side monitor. Rather than a helpful slow-motion replay of the incident between MacAllister and Pacho, fans were greeted with a view of a completely empty 18-yard box at the other end of the pitch.

Luckily, it seems to have been a broadcast error, as Mariani was able to view the incident and make a call, which was to overturn his original decision.

Credit: Sky Sports

Verdict: In my opinion this was a positive intervention by VAR and the penalty was correctly overturned.

Mariani felt in real time that there was a foul by the defender, however the relays showed that it was in fact Mac Allister who pushed his left leg in to the PSG defender trying to create a foul, as opposed to it being the other way round.

For a penalty to be awarded there needs to be a clear action by a defender on an attacker, and there is no evidence that Pacho did anything other than stand his ground. He certainly did not make a challenge for the ball.

There was much debate after the match around whether this met the threshold for a “clear and obvious” error as there was contact between the players, however I believe the correct outcome was eventually reached, despite the frustrations of Liverpool and their supporters.