A Premier League panel has endorsed the decision by Referee Rob Jones and VAR Michael Salisbury that Manchester City midfielder Elliot Anderson did not handle the ball in his side's 5-3 win over Sunderland.
The Black Cats were left furious after the ball struck Anderson’s hand while competing with Enzo Le Fee inside the City penalty area during a breathless second half.
Jones turned away protests and Salisbury refrained from intervening from Stockley Park, which angered Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris.
However, the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents five-person panel backed the original call by a 3-2 majority vote.
Two members of the panel - which consists of three former players and coaches, a Premier League representative and one from Pro Ref - felt Anderson deliberately moved his arm toward the ball.
The panel’s findings read: "The referee’s call of no penalty for a potential handball offence against Anderson was supported, 3:2.
"Both players were engaged and the ball was bouncing at close proximity after deflecting off Le Fee.
"Two panellists felt that there was a deliberate secondary movement of the arm from Anderson that was a handball offence."
The panel also voted four to one that VAR’s decision not to step in was correct.
The panel’s verdict comes less than 24 hours after the Premier League released a statement confirming City have been found guilty of almost all of the 115 charges brought against them.
City deny any wrongdoing, and have vowed to appeal the verdict.
There was also a split decision concerning Everton’s disallowed goal in their 1-0 win over Ipswich at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The Toffees thought they had doubled their advantage when Thierno Barry headed home, but referee Stuart Attwell was advised that Brennan Johnson was offside in front of goalkeeper Christian Walton.
The ruling read: "The VAR intervention to disallow the goal for interfering with an opponent by Johnson was supported, 3:2.
"Johnson was clearly in an offside position, in very close proximity to the goalkeeper and makes a movement, impacting the goalkeeper’s ability to set and move to the ball. Two panellists felt that Johnson’s position and actions did not impact goalkeeper Walton."
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