It’s a moment that Charalampos Kostoulas will never forget.
An acrobatic equalizer from a stoppage-time kick – not a bad way for Brighton’s 18-year-old Greek striker to open his account at the Amex Stadium.
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The substitute, who signed from Olympiakos for £29.78million in the summer, struck just when all seemed lost for the Seagulls after leading Bournemouth to a highly controversial first-half penalty.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was full of praise for his teenage savior, but that still hasn’t assuaged his anger at the awarding of the spot-kick that led to Marcus Tavernier’s equalizer – with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen adjudged to have fouled Amine Adli following the video assistant referee’s (VAR) review.
He said: “It was a great goal. We all know what he is capable of. But we all prefer to win.”
Asked if he thought it was a penalty, the German replied: “No. It’s difficult to talk to the referees. They have their own opinion and it’s very difficult to have a conversation with them. We have to accept it even if we don’t agree.
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“One touch and one contact is not enough, and that’s what the referees told us before the season started. And at times they don’t, that’s just the truth.
“Contact doesn’t mean a foul and in this situation it’s contact, maybe a little bit, but it’s not a foul. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Greece Under-21 international Kostoulas makes his professional debut in 2024, after attending the Olympiakos academy – scoring seven goals in 22 first-team league appearances last season.
If an extra £1.7 million was paid for him during his time at Brighton, it would make the transfer a record deal for a Greek player.
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Since arriving at Brighton, he has made 17 appearances and scored two goals, with captain Lewis Dunk describing him as a “special talent”.
Dunk said: “I saw him score better in training, but it was unbelievable.
“I think you got a glimpse, and there will be a lot more to come from him. He’s adapting to the country, to the new league, and he’s shown what he can do. This shows exactly what he can do.”
There was controversy as Amine Adli was judged to have been fouled by Bart Verbruggen (Getty Images)
Why was the penalty imposed?
The incident occurred around the half-hour mark when Bournemouth’s Adli was initially booked for simulation by referee Paul Tierney after going down under the challenge of goalkeeper Verbruggen.
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But, after recommendation from VAR manager Jarred Gillett, Tierney looked at it on the pitchside monitor, reversed his decision and awarded a penalty – announcing that contact had been made.
Tavernier then scored the penalty to earn the visitors the opener, which looked like a Bournemouth match-winner until Kostoulas’ late intervention.
Replays showed that the slightest touch was made by Verbruggen’s high foot, but, while the ball appeared to drift harmlessly away from goal, Brighton staff, players and fans were left infuriated by the decision.
After a weekend that saw Arsenal furious at not being awarded a penalty and Manchester City furious Diogo Dalot was not sent off in their Manchester derby defeat, it was another decision that was the main talking point on Monday night.
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Unsurprisingly, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola felt the decision was the right one.
He said: “As soon as I saw the replay… Verbruggen also raises his leg a lot and contacts Amine. So I was waiting for the decision, yes.”
Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry agreed on Sky Sports: “It’s a penalty. You raise your leg, the moment you hit the player, the ball is still in play. Whether he can get it back or not, it’s still in play.
“Nowadays, as we all know, you look at a situation in slow motion. And that was given. Instead of debating now, whether it was a penalty or not, it could have been avoided and we can clearly see the contact.”
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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher added: “These type of penalties wouldn’t have been given maybe 10 years ago. The ball is still in play and you can see the contact. Adli wouldn’t have touched the ball.”
Video assistant referee errors got up in the first half of the Premier League season.
Data collected by BBC Sport from the Premier League’s KMI (Key Match Incidents) panel shows errors increased by 30% season on season, from 10 to 13 before the weekend.
This is still a marked improvement compared to previous years, with 20 errors at this stage of the 2023-24 campaign and 23 in 2022-23.
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“Clear and obvious? ” – analysis
Clear and obvious? That’s the question Brighton will likely ask themselves after Bournemouth’s VAR penalty.
If referee Tierney had identified Verbruggen’s contact on Adli and simply said “no penalty”, a pitchside review was unlikely. His description would have been a justifiable interpretation.
The VAR intervention was based on Tierney being wrong. Tierney has booked the Bournemouth striker for simulation. This was inaccurate and opened the door to scrutiny.
However, the VAR still had to feel that this met the threshold for a penalty. There was some discussion that the contact was light and not enough to bring Adli down.
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A key factor was that Verbruggen’s challenge was erratic, with a high boot reaching Adli’s thigh after he passed.
The fact that Adli was unable to keep the ball in play doesn’t matter, but the fact that he was still in play at the time of the foul contact doesn’t matter.
“Football is becoming a divers’ sport” – what you said
Sam, Brighton: Terrible knockdown decision, he barely touched it and was already falling apart. Embarrassing on the part of the referee and embarrassing on the part of the VAR,
Simeon, Woking: Another week, another bad VAR decision – Get rid of it!
Russ, Upton: Football isn’t worth watching anymore, is it? Why did the referee decide to change his mind with this penalty? The attacker a) fails to shoot, b) fails to recover the ball once he has pushed it c) does not receive enough contact to knock it down anyway! It turns out that when referees are as poor as they are today, having more of them only makes things worse!
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Phil, Toronto: The problem is clear and obvious. It seems that any minor infraction is now considered clear and obvious. Technology can help, with the ball crossing the goal line, even semi-automatic offsides, but tackles and handballs, the referee has his eyes on the play and is best placed to make a decision. Every time players wait, it’s not clear or obvious…
Tom, Innsbruck: Stop with this “there was contact” nonsense. Does the player fall because they are actually knocked down, or do they throw themselves to the ground as soon as they are hit? Football is becoming a sport for divers.
