Premier League issue official statement after Brighton vs Sunderland incident

Sunderland 0-2 Brighton from the Stadium Light in the Premier League

The 10-men of Brighton enjoyed a 2-0 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Maxim De Cuyper gave Brighton the lead with his fourth goal of the season but Brighton were soon up against it as defender Pascal Struijk was sent off on 54 minutes after a VAR overview for denying Isidor a goalscoring opportunity.

The Seagulls though managed the game well with 10-men and substitute Jaouen Hadjam fired home a late second to seal the win and keep Brighton third in the table.

Struijk sees red

The red card though was a controversial talking point and a statement on the Premier League Matchday X account read: “#SUNBHA – 54’ VAR OVERTURN

“After VAR review, the referee issued a red card to Struijk for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO).

“REF: “After review, there is a foul by Brighton No.4, which denies Sunderland a goal-scoring opportunity. The final decision is a red card and a direct free-kick”.

The referee Thomas Bramall had originally allowed play to go on but was called to the screen by video assistant referee Neil Davies to review the incident.

I was surprised VAR reviewed

Former Premier League Darren Cann disagreed with the decision to dismiss the Brighton man. Speaking to the BBC, Cann said: “Although Struijk was the last man and there was contact with Isidor, in my opinion the ball would have gone through to the advancing goalkeeper and therefore I was a little surprised the VAR recommended a review for a red card.

“This was not a clear and obvious error in my opinion as there was no obvious goalscoring opportunity due to Isidor being very unlikely to get to the ball before the goalkeeper.”

Struijk in wrong position

Nedum Onuoha, former Manchester City defender on BBC Final Score, said: “Pascal Struijk has got nothing to complain about in some ways, he ended up being in the wrong position after heading it away.

“From there he’s not going to let him go through or win it straight away. When you look back at it, it does feel really obviously in terms of being a goalscoring opportunity.”

Ex-Sunderland defender Gary Bennett, on BBC Radio Newcastle, said: “He’s been poor, the referee. It’s a straight red.

“The worrying thing, he didn’t even think it was a foul, now he’s given a straight red. It’s taken someone upstairs to tell him. He hasn’t got a clue.”