Premier League offer explanations on VAR decisions during Chelsea vs Tottenham

The Premier League have given clarifications on why VAR disallowed two goals during the London derby match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.

It has been confirmed that Moises Caicedo’s fine goal in Chelsea’s victory over Tottenham was chalked off after a VAR check because Levi Colwill had strayed into an offside position.

Caicedo lashed a superb volley into the bottom right-hand corner just minutes after Enzo Fernandez had headed the Blues into a 1-0 lead during the second half. However, Colwill went for the ball initially with Cristian Romero which led to calls for the goal to be chalked off.

Although referee Craig Pawson and his officials initially awarded the goal, VAR checked the call and overruled the decision.

Taking to social media, the Premier League confirmed the process behind the call.

They wrote in a post on X: “VAR checked the referee’s call of goal – and established that Colwill was in an offside position in the build-up and recommended that the goal was disallowed.”

A screen displays details of the VAR decision to overturn a goal scored by Pape Matar Sarr of Tottenham Hotspur (not pictured) during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Stamford Bridge on April 03, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

In what was a dramatic match, Tottenham also saw Pape Matar Sarr’s thunderous strike from range disallowed.

Chelsea players protested that there was a foul in the build-up. And they were proven right just minutes later when VAR advised Pawson to head to his monitor to correct another call.

The Premier League shared another post confirming that a foul on Caicedo was the reason for the overturn, saying: “VAR checked the referee’s call of goal for Tottenham – and deemed there was a foul by Sarr on Caicedo in the build-up and recommended an on-field review. The referee then overturned the original decision and the goal was disallowed, with Sarr then cautioned for a reckless challenge.”