Few people know this rule: Arsenal’s Kai Havertz suddenly stirs up controversy unwittingly

Arsenal's hard-fought but deserved Premier League win over Hull City featured a contentious challenge on Kai Havertz. Under the rules, the Germany international should have had a penalty, even though he was offside.

Shortly before half-time, Havertz received a perfectly placed pass between the defenders. Hull defender Nobel Mendy tugged his shirt and brought him down. VAR Michael Oliver asked referee Farai Hallam to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. Hallam ruled out a foul because Havertz was offside and gave the visitors a free-kick.

Hallam told the crowd over the stadium microphones that Havertz would have deserved a penalty, but he had decided against awarding one because of the offside position. Long-serving former Gunners player Martin Keown was furious. "He should never have been asked to go to the VAR monitor, should he?" he told talkSPORT. "They should already have established whether he was offside. It's ridiculous. (…) Shouldn't they have sorted all that out in the VAR room before asking the referee to look at it? It's ridiculous. I'd really like to hear the true story behind it."

Neither Keown nor the officiating team of Hallam and Oliver apparently knew that, under the rules, Havertz should have had a penalty. His offside position did not matter in this case.

Little-known rule: Why should Kai Havertz have been awarded a penalty?

Rules expert Dale Johnson explained why to the BBC. "A player in an offside position only becomes active when he commits an offside offence," he said. "Kai Havertz must have attempted to play the ball or challenged an opponent for it — otherwise Nobel Mendy's shirt-pull takes precedence. The foul comes before any possible offside offence."

A foul takes precedence over offside if the player who is fouled has not actively become involved in play. Havertz had not: Mendy brought him down immediately after the pass. Johnson pointed to a match between Newcastle United and AFC Bournemouth two seasons ago. Magpies defender Fabian Schär was offside following a free-kick cross from outside the penalty area, but had not become actively involved in play when he was brought down inside the box. A VAR review led to the Swiss player receiving a penalty.

In the end, Arsenal had little reason to dwell on the incident. Martin Ödegaard scored the deserved winner in the 72nd minute, extending the league leaders' advantage over nearest challengers Manchester City to six points. Fabian Hürzeler's surprise package Brighton & Hove Albion can close the gap to five points and move above the Skyblues with a win over Brentford on Sunday (3pm), after City suffered their third successive league defeat against struggling Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

How did Arteta react to the Havertz incident?

Asked about the Havertz controversy at the subsequent press conference, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta smiled. "I don't know, I haven't watched the incident again — and I deliberately haven't, so I don't have to lie to you."

Arteta was not familiar with the rule either. "I was surprised because, when they sent the referee to the monitor, the people on the bench told me it was a clear penalty because he (Mendy; editor's note) had pulled his shirt. I've now heard that they decided not to give a penalty because Kai was offside in the starting position. So I don't know how to interpret that. I'm sure they'll clarify it." So far, neither the FA nor refereeing body PGMOL has issued an official statement about the incident.

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Kai Havertz well clear at the top of an unwanted statistic

This season, the former Leverkusen player has been caught offside 15 times, comfortably more than anyone else in the Premier League. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is second on the list with eight.

Despite that, Havertz has remained injury-free and is an undisputed starter under Arteta, contributing four goals and one assist in 15 appearances. His status with the national team remains unchanged, too. Jürgen Klopp sees him as the first choice for the striker position. Alongside Havertz, goalscorers Younes Ebnoutalib (Eintracht Frankfurt) and returning player Niclas Füllkrug (SV Werder Bremen) have also been called up for the upcoming training camp.