It has been more than eight months since Ivan Toney last played in a competitive match for Brentford due to his suspension for 232 betting rules violations, but he hasn’t lost his scoring touch. With a chance from a free kick for Brentford, Toney didn’t miss bringing Brentford level 19 minutes into the match.
The free kick while well executed, did seem a bit too easy for Toney, and upon second viewing it was quite a controversial goal. After the ball was set by the referee and Nottingham Forest keeper Matt Turner set his wall to his liking, Toney not only moved the ball but also moved the line marking where the kick should be taken from then drove the ball through an opening in the wall.
While that was quite cheeky from the English striker, it is on the referee to catch that as despite all scoring plays being reviewed by VAR, that goal wasn’t reviewed after it went in, allowing it to stand. Following numerous concerns with the application of VAR in the Premier League this season, in a clash between 15th and 16th in the table this could make a difference. Only penalty kick reviews are clearly called out in VAR guidelines and not free kick reviews, but if VAR doesn’t include reviewing free kicks, it may be another thing that needs to change with the application of reviews in that case.
