Darren England, the referee, explained why VAR ruled out Eberechi Eze’s free kick against Chelsea. According to England, the goal was disallowed because Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi was less than 1 meter away from the Chelsea wall when Eze took the free kick. This is a breach of the laws of the game, which state that attacking players must maintain a minimum distance of 1 meter from the defensive wall during a free kick ¹.

England announced over the tannoy, “Away number 6 is less than one metre into the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore it’s an indirect free-kick and a disallowed goal.” This explanation was part of a new initiative in the 2025/26 Premier League season where referees provide explanations for their decisions to reduce confusion over VAR calls.

The decision to disallow the goal was made after VAR reviewed the incident, and England’s explanation helped clarify the reasoning behind the call. However, many fans and pundits were left puzzled by the decision, questioning its harshness. Former Chelsea player Chris Sutton described it as “scandalous,” while former England right-back Micah Richards argued that referees were simply applying the rules ¹.