Head of referees Howard Webb has brushed aside concerns surrounding Callum Wilson’s disallowed goal for West Ham against Arsenal.
As pretty much the entire football world now knows, the Hammers had a late equaliser ruled out following a supposed foul by Pablo on David Raya.
The decision has received widespread criticism, particularly because Arsenal themselves have benefited from very similar situations at set-pieces throughout the season.
New Footage Raises More Questions
To make matters worse, new footage appears to show Leandro Trossard forcing Pablo into goalkeeper Raya before the West Ham striker eventually places an arm across him.
Remarkably, Webb completely ignored the earlier foul on Pablo during his assessment of referee Chris Kavanagh’s performance.
Most Read on West Ham News
And perhaps most frustratingly of all, Kavanagh himself never appeared to review footage showing the initial rugby-style challenge which forced Pablo into the position he was eventually penalised for occupying.
West Ham v Arsenal VAR-Pablo
Pablo was judged to have fouled Raya
Webb Gives “Categorical” Verdict
Speaking to Michael Owen, Webb said:
“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.
“We’re not just talking about contact with goalkeepers, we’re talking about a specific type of contact when the goalkeeper’s arms or hands are being interfered with, stopping them doing their job.
“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 sort of group of players in the penalty area and it’s difficult to see, when the VAR sees this, of course they have to get involved.
“But what we also hear the VAR doing is going through everything else, because the team wants to make sure that this is the only clear and obvious offence that needs intervening upon.”
The Biggest Problem Was Ignored
And therein lies the problem.
Because it appears the most obvious foul in the entire sequence wasn’t properly considered at all.
Only once Trossard had already begun releasing Pablo did the footage seem to start being analysed.
Which leaves many West Ham supporters wondering how VAR can claim to review “everything else” while seemingly ignoring the very action that created the incident in the first place.