Wolves coach Gary O'Neil appeared to question the consistency of the job after John Stones sealed a dramatic 2-1 win for Man City at Molineux.

The PGMOL revealed that Stones' header was disallowed on the pitch before VAR recommended a review.

Bernardo Silva stood in front of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa before Stones headed the ball in and was ruled offside by referee Chris Kavanagh.

However, VAR Stuart Attwell did not agree with the decision as Silva moved before Stones touched the ball and he sent Kavanagh onto his monitor, leading to the decision.

When asked for his opinion on the decision to award the Stones' goal, O'Neil gave the example of Max Kilman disallowing a goal for Wolves against West Ham in April last season.

“The reason given to us (for Kilman's goal) was that Tawanda Chirewa was so close to the goalkeeper that he influenced him. Bernardo Silva is probably less than a meter away from Jose Sa,” O’Neil said Sky Sports.

“The same argument could be made, but I am sure they will tell us that it was the right decision and everyone got it right.”

As quoted in the Times, PGMOL said that “the offense of holding (i.e. blocking or blocking) will be punished more severely in set pieces when an attacker attempts to stop an opponent's movement.”

However, only offside was taken into account in the decision and review. Bernardo Silva's push against Sa was not considered a foul.

The PGMOL statement said: “The Stones’ goal was disallowed on the pitch because Bernardo Silva was in an offside position and was in the goalkeeper’s field of vision.”

“The VAR concluded that Bernardo Silva was not in the line of sight and had no influence on the goalkeeper and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his original decision and a goal was awarded.”

Wolves triggered a vote to abolish VAR in June. Of the 20 Premier League clubs, only Wolves voted to scrap the system.

Analysis: There are two problems at play in Man City's late winner

There are two key elements to Man City's late winner and how the officials interpreted the play.

First – Is Bernardo Silva offside because he is in goalkeeper Sa's field of vision? The PGMOL stated that this was the reason the target was initially excluded. The VAR concluded that Bernardo Silva was not in Sa's line of sight and recommended an on-field review (after initially disallowing the goal), which ultimately allowed the goal.

The crucial question: Where was Bernardo Silva when Stones made contact with his header? The answer: far out of Sa's line of sight.

Second – Did Bernardo Silva foul Sa? This is an issue that was not addressed by PGMOL in its subsequent post on X, but we have evidence that the incident was not ruled a foul.

“There's a slight push that throws the goalkeeper off balance so he's not ready (when Stones heads the ball), so I can understand why Wolves are offended at that particular moment,” he said Sky Sports Expert Micah Richards.

“I think it affected the goalkeeper’s ability to hold the ball,” he added Sky Sports' Daniel Sturridge.

O'Neil: We didn't have a lot of positive results

Wolves Boss Gary O'Neil To Sky Sports:

“I managed to stay calm (after the goal was scored). I was involved in some of those games with Wolves. There weren't many that worked out in our favor. I expected the result we got.”

“There is a bit of a gray area and some little things where you can go either way with this decision. I wasn’t too sure it was going our way.”

“Some similarities to our game against West Ham last season. We sent some pictures to the referee with clear evidence that the West Ham goalkeeper could see the ball.”

“The reason given to us was that Tawanda Chirewa was so close to the goalkeeper that he had an influence on him. Bernardo Silva is probably less than a meter away from Jose Sa.”

“The same argument could be made, but I am sure they will tell us that it was the right decision and everyone got it right.”

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