VAR denied Arsenal a winning goal, and was it the right call? PGMOL chief Howard Webb analyses a potentially title-deciding moment during Arsenal vs West Ham.
The Premier League title race took another dramatic turn on Sunday when a late equalizer for West Ham United against Arsenal was disallowed following a lengthy VAR review. With Arsenal pushing for the title and West Ham fighting relegation, Howard Webb has broken down how the decision to grant Arsenal a winning goal was made.
Foul call against Raya backed up by Webb
Webb has admitted that the decision to disallow West Ham’s last-minute equalizer against Arsenal in their 1-0 defeat was the correct one after the penalty call was checked due to Pablo tripping the goalkeeper, David Raya, in the 5th minute of stoppage time. On the latest ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, he said: “Is it a foul on the goalkeeper? Absolutely, it is. We’ve said this all season – since preseason briefings with all the players – that if a goalkeeper is prevented from doing their job by an opposition player that grabbed their arms and stops them from doing it, they will be punished.”
Audio from the VAR room highlights impact
An example of the discussion that took place between referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR Darren England shows that originally a goal decision was given by Kavanagh, but VAR spotted something not spotted and highlighted the problem. This part of the transcript shows the exact detail England spotted: “His hand is holding down his arm, it is impacting on me. The left arm has been caught across the front of his body, and he is across his head and has held on to the left arm of Raya, and that has impeded his ability to get to the ball at a key moment.”
Both managers have contrasting opinions on the controversy
Both managers expressed very different views after the penalty incident, with Mikel Arteta praising the VAR system for showing “a lot of guts,” and with his side topping the Premier League with 79 points from 36 matches. In stark contrast, West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo was less than pleased with “the lack of consistency” in the call, with the Hammers remaining 18th with 36 points, in the relegation zone. Webb then commented on how intense the pressure had become: “The season has been a bit more unique than others when it comes to the volume of contacts within the penalty area; it is a really challenging situation for officials.”
Penalty area grappling will be addressed in the future
It will be discussed at the end of the season on how the wrestling in the penalty area should be officiated, as it is clear that coaches at all levels want some form of marginal gain, but with Arsenal at the top of the league, two points above Manchester City, who have only 74 points and one game in hand, the league title is still open.
