Although West Ham United fought hard to score an equaliser against Brighton & Hove Albion at the London Stadium, they were slightly fortuitous to hold onto their point late on.
Brighton had some excellent chances to take all three points away from West Ham, and Lukasz Fabianski had to pull off one or two remarkable saves to cling onto a draw.
The Hammers have now somewhat weathered their recent storm after a run of three games unbeaten, however, Julen Lopetegui will still need to inspire better.
West Ham now have some very tricky fixtures over the festive period, and their hierarchy certainly won’t accept any slip down the table.
That being said, some home supporters may still be feeling aggrieved towards referee Rob Jones and VAR after Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
Pervis Estupinan deserved to be sent off for ill-timed tackle on Max Kilman
In the 84th minute of the game, Brighton full-back Pervis Estupinan was instantly handed a yellow card by Jones for a foul on Max Kilman.
Jones was very close to the foul in the middle of the pitch, one that left Kilman in a lot of pain.
West Ham United's Max Kilman is challenged by Brighton & Hove Albion's Pervis Estupinan during the Premier League match between West Ham United...
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
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Estupinan slid in to win the ball with two feet raised and made considerable contact with Kilman’s left shin, visibly rocking his shin pad.
As expected, VAR reviewed the incident, but it was then surprising when they deemed that Jones’ decision didn’t need to be reviewed on-pitch – they settled on a yellow card.
Estupinan’s tackle appeared reckless, ill-timed and quite dangerous in reality, a tackle Kilman was fortunate not to be injured from.
However, Jones immediately decided it was a yellow card foul, and VAR decided there was not sufficient reason to change the call, a real surprise.
Why did VAR not upgrade Pervis Estupinan’s yellow card?
Of course, Premier League Match Centre shared how the decision was handled on X.
VAR checked for a potential red card but it was deemed that Jones’ call wasn’t ‘clearly and obviously wrong’.
They wrote: “The referee issued a yellow card to Estupiñán for a challenge on Kilman.
“VAR checked for a potential red card and deemed that the referee’s call was not clearly and obviously wrong.”
#WHUBHA – 84’
The referee issued a yellow card to Estupiñán for a challenge on Kilman. VAR checked for a potential red card and deemed that the referee’s call was not clearly and obviously wrong.
— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) December 21, 2024
View Tweet
In this scenario, it’s hard to blame Jones, who did have a slightly obstructed view despite being very close to the challenge.
But this seemed like the exact kind of situation VAR is on hand for, when Jones perhaps could have benefited from some help.
No one wants to see players sent off, but Estupinan got it wrong on this occasion and should have been heading down the tunnel.
On a different note, West Ham fans questioned Niclas Fullkrug’s display, who lasted only 57 minutes before he was taken off against Brighton.
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