Fulham award goal of the month to Josh King for disallowed strike after VAR error
Club gives 18-year-old accolade for ruled-out effort in contentious 2-0 derby defeat to Chelsea as PGMOL admits mistake and replaces VAR official
Fulham have awarded their August goal of the month to Josh King for a strike that was disallowed in their cross-London derby defeat to Chelsea after a VAR intervention that the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) later described as a mistake.
The incident occurred around the 20-minute mark of the game before the international break, when Sander Berge played Rodrigo Muniz into space. Muniz floored past Trevoh Chalobah and laid the ball off to King, who finished past the goalkeeper to send travelling Fulham supporters into celebrations. Referee Robert Jones was summoned to the pitchside monitor after VAR official Michael Salisbury flagged a possible foul in the build-up and, after review, ruled the goal out, citing an accidental stamp by Muniz on Chalobah that was judged a reckless challenge.
Replays shown after the match indicated Muniz made only minimal contact with Chalobah. Fulham said the goal "was cruelly taken away from the 18-year-old," adding that King received 83.1% of the club's vote for August's goal of the month. Had the goal stood it would have been King's first senior goal for Fulham.
Chelsea went on to win the fixture 2-0, with goals from Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez. Fulham manager Marco Silva expressed frustration after the match at the decision and its effect on the tie. The disallowed goal also drew criticism from former players and pundits on social media, with Jamie Carragher writing on X that VAR "has had a shocking start to the season," and Rio Ferdinand commenting that VAR was "killing this young man's moment."
PGMOL subsequently acknowledged that VAR's decision to intervene in the incident was erroneous. As a result of the furore, Michael Salisbury was removed from his VAR duties for the following weekend's high-profile fixture between Arsenal and Liverpool and was replaced in that role by John Brooks.
The episode forms part of wider scrutiny on the use of VAR this season, with clubs, supporters and former professionals continuing to debate the consistency of video-assisted decisions. Fulham's decision to recognise King with the club award underlined the significance of the moment for the teenager and highlighted the lasting impact of the match-day ruling on players and fans.
Fulham's statement, the PGMOL admission and the subsequent rotation of VAR officials establish an immediate administrative response to the incident. On the field, Chelsea retained their unbeaten start to the campaign with the victory, while Fulham were left to reflect on what might have been had the goal been allowed to stand.