Arsenal have been told why the two penalties they were awarded against West Ham were the right decisions. The Gunners claimed a 5-2 win over the Hammers in the Premier League clash at the London Stadium on Saturday night.
All seven goals were scored in the first half, with Arsenal being awarded two penalties by referee Anthony Taylor in the London derby. Gabriel Magalhaes, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka were all on the score sheet for the Gunners against West Ham.
Arsenal's second goal came after Saka was fouled by Lucas Paqueta, with the spot-kick being converted by Odegaard. The Gunners were then awarded another penalty after Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski struck Gabriel in the head, attempting to punch the ball clear from a corner.
The incident was reviewed by VAR and deemed to be the correct decision to award a penalty, but Fabianski was shown a yellow card rather than a red. Former Premier League referee Jeff Winter has explained why the correct decisions were made to award Arsenal the two penalties but took issue with the amount of time VAR took to confirm the onfield call.
"There was a long delay for the penalty in that game and I didn't understand why there was a long delay because again, it's something I think the referee, especially a referee, who’s experienced as Taylor, you'd have thought he'd have given it," Winter told Grosvenor Casino.
“This was also the game where there was the penalty for the punch in the face [Fabianski foul on Gabriel], and I've read some people querying that, saying it wasn't the penalty, and then on the other side, people are saying it should have been a red card. Well, eventually, I believe they got this one right.”
“It was genuine, you could say it was excessive force, you could say it was dangerous. It's obviously dangerous if someone punches someone in the head, but I think it was a genuine attempt by the goalkeeper to play the ball, but he has punched the player in the face so it’s a definite penalty and for me a yellow card.”
“Again, it did seem to take a little bit of time to get to that decision. Without VAR, the referees got to make a call, and we all stand by it.”
The Premier League's official Match Centre account on X shared statements during the game to explain the two penalty decisions.
"#WHUARS – 32’ The referee’s call of penalty for a foul by Paqueta on Saka was checked and confirmed by VAR, deeming that the contact was sufficient for a penalty," it read. No less than 15 minutes later, the account was needed again.
Taylor took some time but eventually decided that the challenge was illegal. Soon after that, the Premier League Match Centre account said: "#WHUARS - The referee’s call of penalty for a reckless challenge by Fabianski on Gabriel was checked and confirmed by VAR."
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