Hardly anyone knew about this rule: Arsenal’s Kai Havertz suddenly sparks heated debate

Arsenal's hard-fought but deserved Premier League win over Hull City included a controversial incident involving Kai Havertz. The Germany international should have had a penalty under the rules, despite being offside.

Shortly before half-time, Havertz ran onto a perfect pass through the defence, but Hull defender Nobel Mendy pulled his shirt and brought him down. VAR Michael Oliver asked referee Farai Hallam to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. Hallam ruled out the foul because Havertz was offside and awarded the visitors a free-kick.

Hallam explained 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 Gunners player Martin Keown was furious. "He should never have been asked to go to the VAR monitor, should he?" he said on talkSPORT, adding: "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."

Yet neither Keown nor the officiating team of Hallam and Oliver apparently knew the rule: Havertz should have had a penalty. In this case, his offside position was irrelevant.

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

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

A foul takes precedence over offside if the fouled player has not become actively involved in play. Havertz had not done so when 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 delivery from outside the penalty area, but did not become actively involved before an opponent brought him down inside the box. After a VAR review, the Swiss player got a penalty.

Arsenal won regardless of the decision. Martin Ödegaard scored the deserved winner in the 72nd minute, extending the league leaders' advantage over their closest challengers, Manchester City, to six points. Fabian Hürzeler's surprise package Brighton & Hove Albion can close to within five points and move above the Sky Blues with a win over Brentford on Sunday (3pm), after City suffered their third consecutive league defeat against struggling Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Arteta did not know the rule either: How did he react to the Havertz incident?

At the subsequent press conference, Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta was relaxed. Asked about the Havertz controversy, the Spaniard said with a smile: "I don't know, I haven't watched the incident again — and I deliberately haven't done so, so I don't have to lie to you."

Arteta was also unfamiliar with the rule: "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) pulled his shirt. I've now heard that they decided not to give a penalty because Kai was offside in his starting position. So I don't know how to interpret that. I'm sure they'll clarify it." Neither the FA nor the referees' organisation PGMOL has issued an official statement about the incident so far.

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Kai Havertz well clear at the top of an unwelcome statistic

Offside remains a recurring problem for Havertz. The former Leverkusen player has been caught offside 15 times already this season, by far the most of any player in the Premier League. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is second, having been penalised eight times for being in an offside position.

Despite that, Havertz has remained injury-free and is an undisputed starter under Arteta, with four goals and one assist in 15 appearances. His status with the national team is 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 selected for the upcoming training camp.