Sunderland lost 5-0 to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League at the Stadium of Light on Friday night

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher and striker Jay Bothroyd believe VAR was right to intervene and rule out Dan Ballard's goal against Nottingham Forest on Friday night.

Sunderland were trailing 4-0 midway through the second half when Nordi Mukiele had a close-range effort saved, with Ballard following up to head into the back of the net. However, a lengthy VAR check followed in which Mukiele was ruled to have committed a 'tripping offence'.

Gallagher and Bothroyd discussed the incident on Sky Sports' Ref Watch show and the former said he thought it was the right decision, arguing that Mukiele had prevented Sels from clearing the loose ball by catching his leg.

"I think it's a foul," he said.

"I don't think Mukiele means to foul him, but by sliding in he stops the goalkeeper because he knocks him back and he ends up flapping at it. Because of that, Ballard is able to score. If you watch the keeper here, he can't get to the ball because Mukiele has taken his leg away, so it's just knocked him back at half a yard, which is why he misses the ball."

Bothroyd agreed with that assessment: "I think it's an unfortunate one because Mukiele has to go for the ball, he's sliding in and momentum is taking him that way.

"Obviously Sels is there, he's caught his foot, and I think that he would have probably pushed off with that foot to get to the ball, and I think he would have [got there]. But it's an interesting thing there, if you take that back, Dan Ballard has actually pulled the defender's shirt as well. He probably could have got the ball when he's coming round, but he doesn't because he's pulled the shirt. So it's an interesting one, but I think it was the right decision. We're talking about Mukiele here and it is the right decision, just because his momentum's taking him there. It's not intentional, but he's impeded the goalkeeper."

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

Ref Watch duo deliver verdict on ‘re-refereeing’ claim

While there was some debate over the length of the check and whether the intervention constituted 're-refereeing of the game', Gallagher argued it was justified as this warranted a 'clear and obvious error'.

"Well, they have to check the offside anyhow, but when you look at it, you look at that, you see one replay, and you go, well, that's a foul," Gallagher said.

"The goalkeeper's lost the ball because Mukiele caught his leg. There's no doubt in my mind about that. So are you going to say, well, I don't want to re-referee it, so I'll let it go? He got the wrong decision there. So I think we've restarted with the right decision."

Bothroyd said he was surprised the check had taken so long: "That's a long time - it's the first time I've seen that and I came to the conclusion quickly."

Your next Sunderland read: Régis Le Bris explains what's going wrong with Sunderland defensively and reveals dressing-room message