Relegation-threatened side want full explanation from PGMOL after late equaliser against Arsenal was chalked off following 4min 17sec check
The big screen showing a VAR check for a foul on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya in the build up to a disallowed goal from West Ham United's Callum Wilson. Photo credit: John Walton/PA Wire.
New measures appeared some way off in February when the International Football Association Board told reporters at its annual general meeting the problem is “not getting worse”, but the topic is likely to be raised by Ifab this autumn.
Scenes at West Ham on Sunday were the latest occasion in which grappling has become a subject of fierce debate in the Premier League this season and the club are now complaining about perceived inconsistencies. They thought they had secured an equaliser when Callum Wilson struck in stoppage time at the London Stadium, before the goal was ruled out for a foul on David Raya, the Arsenal goalkeeper.
West Ham want a full explanation from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and they could ask to hear the audio between Kavanagh and Darren England, the VAR.
It took four minutes 17 seconds for the goal to be disallowed for the foul by West Ham striker Pablo, partly because referee Chris Kavanagh watched the replay 17 times on the pitchside monitor.
Most pundits and experts said VAR had made the right call, but there is a growing sense within the game that a clampdown is needed on grappling to avoid such long and drawn-out deliberations.
The amount of penalties given for holding has doubled this season but decisions are becoming more difficult as teams adopt “marginal gain” pushing and shoving to avoid detection, some officials believe.
Nevertheless, English football believes it is for Ifab to decide whether the issue needs to be addressed as a whole. Multiple sources say the topic will be raised as a discussion point by Ifab members in the autumn, after the World Cup.
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Increasingly physical actions at corners, with players forcefully grappling, blocking, shoving and crowding out goalkeepers, earlier this season prompted Arne Slot, the Liverpool coach, to say the Premier League is no longer a “joy to watch”.
Senne Lammens, the Manchester United goalkeeper, said after his team’s 1-0 win at Everton, when the home side had 10 corners during the game, that he was forced to “stand behind my line in order to come out” because players from both teams grappled in the six-yard box.
But no decision in VAR history has felt as seismic for both ends of the top tier as the review of the crucial goal for West Ham which was ultimately overruled as a foul.
Nuno Espírito Santo, the West Ham head coach, and forward Jarrod Bowen both hit out at what they see as a lack of consistency in penalising holding and foul challenges at set-pieces.
It remains to be seen whether Ifab has hardened in its view of grappling. Ifab director Ian Maxwell, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, said in February: “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.”
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta praised the officials, referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR Darren England, for their handling of the issue.
“It was a call from the ref that is very brave, but very consistent with what they’ve been talking about all season,” he said.
“When I have to be critical, I have been. And today I have to praise them, at least for giving the option to a referee to decide, away from the lights and the chaos, to give clarity to him to make the right call. And when you look at the action in that way, it is an obvious error.”
Nuno and Bowen strongly disagreed, however. The Portuguese coach said: “You look at every corner in the Premier League and something like this is happening, not just today, but on all the pitches.
“I am talking about the lack of consistency. The players are confused and frustrated and they don’t understand it. It is upsetting. It is up to them to solve it, there is a referee and VAR, but the referees confuse themselves.”
Bowen added: “There’s lots of holding and grappling that goes on in the box. Are you going to look at those every time and give a penalty? Because that’s the only way that is the right way to do it.”
The defeat left Nuno Espírito Santo’s side in a perilous position in the relegation battle, with 36 points from 36 games. They are one point behind 17th-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who next face Leeds United on Monday night.
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The decision had a major impact on the title race, too, as the victory for Mikel Arteta’s side extended their lead over Manchester City to five points.
Darren Cann, the former Premier League and international official, described the incident as the “biggest VAR call in Premier League history” and said the correct decision was reached.