Grappling at corners will be on the agenda of soccer's lawmakers when they convene following this summer's FIFA World Cup. The issue has become a major talking point in the Premier League and took center stage on Sunday when West Ham 's 95th-minute equalizer against Arsenal was disallowed following a VAR review.
Referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to rule out Callum Wilson 's equalizer has sparked considerable controversy due to its implications in both the title race and relegation picture. West Ham are planning to lodge a complaint with the PGMO, contending that the rules have been enforced inconsistently throughout the season.
Kavanagh was directed to the pitchside monitor by VAR Darren England to review replays of West Ham forward Pablo placing his arm across Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya . Following a near five-minute delay, he ruled out Wilson's leveler for a foul, as per The Mirror .
Referee Chris Kavanagh overturned Wilson's goal following a VAR and pitchside review -Credit:Marc Atkins/Getty Images
PGMO's chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, is expected to share his assessment of the incident during Tuesday's edition of Match Officials Mic'd Up, airing on Sky Sports and TNT Sports.
The Press Association reports that the matter is likely to be addressed by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs the laws of the game, during its next round of discussions beginning in the fall.
IFAB director Ian Maxwell, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, was questioned on the matter at the IFAB annual general meeting in February and said: "It wasn't discussed specifically at today's meeting. Anything we can do to try to eradicate that type of behavior...
"We're aware of it from a Scottish perspective, I'm not sure it's necessarily getting worse. There will be geographical changes – football is played all over the world – different countries, different players will deal with things in slightly different ways.
"It's within the protocol for match officials to take decisions on that (whether a foul has been committed) if they feel it is appropriate at the time, so they have got that opportunity."
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Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann has put forward a remedy to the disorder that currently unfolds in the penalty area during set pieces. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "I think there is too much skirmishing generally at corners anyway.
"My idea that I have been saying for three years now is that I believe attacking players shouldn't be allowed in the goal area before the corner is taken, so that would give natural separation between defenders and attackers and it would stop the intermingling before the ball is in play.
"You can't give a defensive free kick or a penalty if the ball is not in play, so it would stop this constant pushing and grappling at corners if we separate the players. It is a simple law change for attackers to have to start outside the goal area and it would avoid these situations."
