Referee Chris Kavanagh checks a VAR screen to review the footage
Referee Chris Kavanagh checks a VAR screen to review the footage
Unhappy Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola claimed a controversial penalty awarded to West Ham in a dramatic 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium directly contradicted advice given by Premier League referees.
Following VAR intervention, match official Chris Kavanagh penalised Cherries midfielder Tyler Adams after Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross brushed his outstretched arm. Hammers substitute Niclas Fullkrug almost headed home Wan-Bissaka’s right-wing delivery, with Adams’ adjudged infringement going unnoticed by most inside the ground.
West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta subsequently converted the contentious 87th-minute spot-kick before Enes Unal’s stunning 90th-minute free-kick salvaged a point for the hosts.
Referring to conversations with Professional Game Match Officials Limited before the current campaign, Iraola said: “I’m very, very disappointed with the penalty because it’s an action that we spoke before the season started with the referees. They gave expressly the instruction not to tell our players to defend with their hands behind their back because it was not natural.
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“I said ‘OK, we give these instructions (to put hands behind backs) because it’s costing us penalties’ and he’s gone, ‘no, don’t worry, it’s natural, it’s not going to cost you’. Bam, the first one: penalty.
“It’s obviously natural because everyone that has played football (knows) you go running to block a shot, a cross, you finish with one hand down, one up, it’s like this always. It doesn’t change a lot the trajectory, they almost scored a goal with the header from Fullkrug and I’m very disappointed.
“Nobody noticed live, I think. But it’s not that nobody noticed, it’s that you have expressly told us that the defenders cannot defend with their hands behind their back because we don’t want the game like this. What do I do next week? What do I tell the defenders?”
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui shakes hands with the officials
Paqueta coolly dispatched the ball into the bottom-right corner from 12 yards to spark wild scenes in the away end but the Hammers’ joy was short-lived. Iraola was not surprised to see Cherries substitute Unal fire a spectacular set-piece into the top-left corner from around 30 yards during the thrilling finale.
“I think everyone involved in the team straight away was thinking ‘this is going to be close’ because he trains a lot,” said Iraola. “He’s our specialist and the consistency is good.
“It’s always difficult because it was quite far but I think everyone felt that if it’s not a goal, it’s going to get close.”
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