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Why was West Ham goal disallowed vs. Arsenal? David Raya incident explained as VAR saves Gunners
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Why was West Ham goal disallowed vs. Arsenal? David Raya incident explained as VAR saves Gunners originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
Arsenal claimed a potentially crucial 1-0 win at West Ham United on Sunday to take a step closer to the Premier League title.
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Leandro Trossard's late winner sealed all three points at the London Stadium and restored the Gunners' five-point lead at the top of the standings. Two wins from their final two games will guarantee them a first top-flight crown in 22 years, regardless of Manchester City 's results.
Yet it was nearly very different. Callum Wilson thought he had scored an equaliser deep into second-half stoppage time, which would have been a massive blow to Arsenal 's title chase and a huge boost to the Hammers' battle against relegation.
However, after a long VAR review, the officials decided to disallow the goal, and Arsenal held on for the victory.
Here's what happened.
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MORE: Arsenal's remaining schedule as they hope to beat Man City to title
Why was West Ham goal disallowed vs. Arsenal?
Wilson's goal was disallowed after the officials decided there had been a foul on Arsenal keeper David Raya in the build-up.
During something of a penalty-box melee at a West Ham corner, Raya managed only to push the ball away while under pressure. It was cleared as far as Wilson, whose shot flew through the crowded box and in, with Declan Rice unable to clear the ball before it crossed the line.
Arsenal immediately protested, insisting there was a foul on Raya. They felt that West Ham striker Pablo had committed an infringement as he had his left arm across Raya's chest, which seemed to prevent the keeper from jumping cleanly for the ball. It also appeared that Raya's jersey was being pulled.
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VAR Darren England recommended an on-field review. Referee Chris Kavanagh watched the footage and agreed with England's view that a foul had been committed, so the goal was disallowed and a free-kick awarded to Arsenal.
Was disallowing West Ham's goal vs. Arsenal the right decision?
West Ham players and fans were understandably furious, but the general consensus is that the officials made the right decision.
Raya appears quite evidently obstructed by Pablo, who, perhaps crucially, does not seem to try to jump for a header and is instead more focused on preventing the Arsenal keeper from reaching it. This likely made the infringement more obvious to the VAR crew.
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West Ham's Jean-Clair Todibo also pulls on Raya's jersey, which was also arguably enough to warrant a free-kick to Arsenal. At the same time, Rice was holding onto Konstantinos Mavropanos around his waist as he ran towards the flight of the ball. According to Sky Sports, both these incidents were also reviewed by VAR, and both were cleared.
The problem lies, as ever, in the consistency of such decisions. Penalty areas have become scenes of such chaos that supporters of clubs invariably spot possible infringements when they pick through match footage. Any time a goal is ruled out for one such incident invariably leads to anger among those with a vested interest in the game's outcome (in this case, West Ham and Man City fans).
Of course, that doesn't mean the officials made the wrong decision here — most would agree they did not — but it will highlight arguably the biggest problem a lot of fans have with VAR: it's not consistent, and it's not perfect.
Reaction to West Ham vs. Arsenal disallowed goal
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to Sky Sports: "When I had to be critical, I have been. Today, I have to congratulate them [referees]. You need a lot of courage and bravery to stand out and give the opportunity to the referee to have a look at the action.
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"When you see the picture, there is no question that it is a clear foul. They were very brave.
"The action deserved that. In my opinion, it is very clear. They are the rules and we ask for consistency."
West Ham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo to Sky Sports: "The way the game finished, we're all upset, of course.
"I didn't pay attention to the replay just to not get more upset, but there's a referee, there's VAR, there's circumstances in the past that would be judged different. Let's not say much further than that.
"Due to the recent seasons it's been happening and even the referees don't know what is a foul, what isn't a foul. It creates a lot of doubt and speculation around it."
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West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen to BBC Sport: "A real blow. We thought we'd done so well to get back in it and had it taken away from us.
"When you look at the screen for five minutes, you'll find something — a lot of grappling and a lot of holding. I'm sure if you look long enough you'll find something. Do I think it's the right decision? No.
"Where's the consistency? As a fan you don't want to celebrate a goal and then wait eight minutes and it's taken off you.
"Corners are physical. The Premier League is physical. That's why everyone loves it. You have to expect contact at corners. If you give that you have to give all the holding calls in the world, and that's not the way people want the game to go down.
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"I don't want to sound bitter, but last week, we had one with Tomas Soucek held at Brentford and we didn't get a penalty. But then, you can't give one like that today."
Former referee Darren Cann on BBC Radio 5 Live: "It is a foul by Pablo holding Raya's arm and clearly impeding Raya. Also, he is having his shirt pulled by Todibo as well. Unfortunately, I know it is a shame for West Ham given the timing of the game, but it is a foul — that is the bottom line.
"The arm is across Raya from Pablo, but, crucially, he is holding Raya's arm. He's not going to punch the ball; he is trying to catch it. The fact he has an arm on the keeper means he can't catch it and he is clearly impeded."
