Retired referee Dermot Gallagher believes there will be "teething problems" with the Premier League's new officiating approach after Jamie Carragher's concerns.
Premier League chiefs have asked officials to be more lenient to allow the game to flow. They want the competition to be the world's quickest league and are expected to allow some robust challenges - such as shoulder barges, for example - to go unpunished.
Many fans are delighted with this approach as it makes for a more entertaining product, but it caused controversy on Sunday when Brighton striker Danny Welbeck wasn't awarded a penalty after being shoved over by Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez.
In previous seasons, Welbeck would've won a penalty and Brighton fans were furious at referee Paul Tierney for not pointing to the spot. The VAR official did not agonise over the decision, either, as play quickly resumed with United in possession.
The decision did not have a dramatic impact on the game as Brighton won 2-1 at Old Trafford, recording a historic win. Yet that approach to refereeing will have a profound impact on other games and could become a regular talking point among pundits.
"Really enjoyed the Premier League being back this weekend, but the high bar for VAR to change the referee's decision is a joke," tweeted Liverpool legend Carragher. "It's about getting the right decision, not sticking with the referee's!"
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Speaking to Sky Sports, former referee Gallagher said: "I think it's a penalty. I think he's rash, he can't win the ball. I don't know why he makes a challenge like that on Welbeck. He's in control of the ball and Martinez doesn't have to make that challenge.
"It's just one the referee hasn't seen as we've seen it. I think the referee would've given the penalty had been able to see the replays that we have. On the day, he hasn't seen it as a penalty. Looking at the replays, I can't argue for why it isn't a penalty.
"There's been talk about raising the threshold at the weekend. Everybody has got to find their way, and you have to accept on the opening day there are going to be some teething problems and decisions that people aren't going to like. This is one."
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock added: "The frustrating thing for me there is that Dermot is saying there are teething problems on the first day of the season, and without being disrespectful, that is a simple refereeing decision.
"That is not teething problems, that is a poor decision, and for me, why not go to VAR or what are VAR talking about? Now, if the referee relays the information: 'I think it is shoulder-to-shoulder', and the VAR come back and say: 'It is not shoulder-to-shoulder, you've made an error. You've missed it.'
"That is what VAR is there for. I don't understand the decision at all. I was more baffled the more I watched it, thinking what is the conversation going on between them. It's very odd. There are four people here [in the studio] who all think it is a penalty."
