Confusion reigns as ‘very harsh’ penalty awarded to Panathinaikos after referee goes to wrong VAR screen

David Orn Atlason and Matthias Vilhjalmsson had given Vikingur Reykjavik a 2-0 lead in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off against Panathinaikos in Helsinki, but the hosts ended up being forced to settle for a 2-1 win after a confusing end to the game. Referee Tom Harald Hagen was at the centre of a chaotic climax that left the TNT Sports Goals Show Xtra team baffled.

There was confusion during the climax of Vikingur Reykjavik's historic 2-1 win against Panathinaikos, as referee Tom Harald Hagen appeared to check the wrong VAR screen before awarding a controversial penalty.

It was the first time an Icelandic club had ever won a UEFA knockout match, but the end to the game was riddled with uncertainty.

The hosts looked comfortable after they took a shock 2-0 lead thanks to goals from David Orn Atlason and Matthias Vilhjalmsson.

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However, the visitors thought they had found a route back into the clash when Harald Hagen awarded a penalty in the 90th minute, seemingly for a handball during a set-piece routine.

TNT Sports pundit Don Hutchison felt that awarding a penalty for handball would have been a harsh decision.

"You can't give a handball for that," said Hutchison. "You can't.

"I know what people will say, his hand shouldn't be there, but the centre-back in front of him has headed it back off his team-mate from a yard away. It can't be.

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"What they will see here when they check this is that the player that is in front of the centre-back jumps early, but his hand is really really high.

"I think you have to take into consideration that your team-mate has headed the ball off your arm."

To Hutchison's relief, the referee was asked to take a second look at the flashpoint by video assistant referee Kristoffer Hagenes.

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Just as things could not get any more chaotic, Harald Hagen appeared to run to the wrong television screen, much to the amusement of James Horncastle.

"Oh, I think he got the VAR wrong there, he went to the wrong screen," said Horncastle. "He had to be redirected. I think it is a bad start for the referee."

Harald Hagen was vindicated in the end though, as the replay verified that there had in fact been a foul inside the box during the set-piece routine.

He opted to discount the handball, but punish the foul, and give Panathinaikos the chance to reduce the deficit.

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Matt Smith was the first on the TNT Sports Goals Show Xtra to get to the bottom of the bizarre series of events.

"We are told they are looking at a foul as well," added Smith.

"Can you see in the aftermath there is an arm across there, so they have discounted the handball.

"He has given it, and I think he has given it for the foul, we are hearing that the outcome is that handball was discounted and the foul was then looked at and awarded.

"So, by hook or by crook, there is going to be a way back, or at least a goal back for Panathinaikos."

Fotis Ioannidis converted the penalty, meaning only one goal will separate the two sides when they collide in the second leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off.

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