Referee's chief Howard Webb has dissected the decision to disallow West Ham's late equaliser during Sunday's Premier League game against Arsenal, with the audio from the incident released
Pablo of West Ham United fouls David Raya of Arsenal
Pablo of West Ham United fouls David Raya of Arsenal(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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Former Premier League referee Howard Webb has claimed that Chris Kavanagh and VAR made the right call to rule out West Ham's late goal against Arsenal on Sunday.
Leandro Trossard put Mikel Arteta's side ahead in the 83rd minute, but the Hammers thought they had snatched a point deep into stoppage-time at the London Stadium.
Callum Wilson fired home from inside the area after the ball fell into his path, but, after a long VAR check, the goal was chalked off. It was viewed that Pablo fouled David Raya in the build-up.
As a cross came into the Arsenal box, Raya came out to punch but, just as he didn't get the cleanest contact on the ball, Pablo appeared to hold the right arm of the goalkeeper, leaving him on the ground.
Arsenal were furious and Kavanagh, who didn't initially give the foul, changed his mind after going across to his pitch-side monitor. Communicating his decision to those inside the stadium, Kavanagh said: "After review, West Ham number 19 commits a foul on the goalkeeper. Final decision is a free-kick."
48 hours have passed since, and there has been much reaction to the decision, with Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and Ian Wright among those agreeing that Kavanagh and VAR came to the right conclusion, while others, such as Peter Schmeichel and Shay Given believed Raya had to be stronger and the goal should have stood.
Now, Webb, who is Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) chief refereeing officer, has weighed in with his verdict on the decision, claiming Kavanagh and VAR made the correct call.
Webb, 54, said on Match Officials Mic'd Up: "So, is it a foul on the goalkeeper? Categorically, yes. We’ve said all season, including in pre-season briefings with the players, that if a goalkeeper is impeded by an opponent grabbing or holding their arms and therefore they can’t do their job, they’ll be penalised.
"So when you see the best angle on this, you’ll see that that’s what happens from Pablo. And on the video, it’s clear and it’s obvious, and it happens early.
"And even though it’s not clear and obvious to the referee because he’s got a huge group of players in a penalty area, and it’s difficult to see, when the VAR sees this, of course, they have to get involved.
"We're in the Premier League, and we know that not every contact is a foul. We consult all the time with the clubs, with the fan groups, with a range of other stakeholders about the type of game that they want to see and how they want us to officiate it.
"This season’s been a little bit more unique than previous ones about the number of contacts in the penalty area, and it does create a challenge for the officials. But when they’re trying to identify what should be penalised, they’re looking for situations that are impactful.
"And you’ll see that in this situation, that it takes a bit of time because they’re going through a process pretty diligently because they really respect the game, and they’re aware, of course, of the size of this situation, the importance of this situation."
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The full footage from Kavanagh's conversation with VAR was recorded and played throughout the programme. You can read it below.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant Referee #1: Dan Cook
Assistant Referee #2: Ian Hussin
Fourth Official: James Bell
VAR: Darren England
VAR Assistant: Akil Howson
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