Chelsea drew 1-1 with West Ham United on Saturday at the London Stadium. However, the blues were denied a clear opportunity to win all three points in the 89th minute as West Ham United midfielder Tomas Soucek used his hand to block a shot from Conor Gallagher from scoring.
Although the referee consulted his colleague in the VAR room, the penalty was not given as the match was allowed to flow. Many fans and pundits have taken to Social media to vent their anger on the referee’s decision not to award Chelsea a penalty.
Former Premier League stars and now pundit Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand have slammed the referee and VAR decision not to award Chelsea the penalty.
Dermot Gallagher, a former Premier League referee, has insisted that Chelsea should have been given a penalty.
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What did Dermot Gallagher say?
In an interview with Sky Sports, he said: “It’s definitely a penalty. I’ve spoken to very few people who don’t think it’s a penalty.
“VAR felt it fell into this bracket of falling and the arm hitting the floor, and the ball striking the arm.
“If you look at Soucek, he doesn’t fall to the floor – he actually drives towards the ball. It’s a goalkeeper-type movement.
“I think that’s what the VAR got seduced by – the idea of falling to the floor. But again, if you look at it a few times, it’s certainly a handball penalty.”
Meanwhile, former Liverpool star Danny Murphy and Alan Shearer have slammed the decision not to award Chelsea a Penalty against West Ham.
Murphy said on BBC Sport: “This was unfathomable, really. We’ve seen it over and over; VAR have the opportunity to see what we see.
“He falls over to deliberately try and stop it and he saves it with his hand, he doesn’t need to be on the floor. He should be standing there trying to block it with his legs. He falls down so his hands are towards the ball.”
When Murphy was asked if Tomas Soucek deserved some leniency for falling near the ball, he replied: But it’s also normal if you’ve fallen or pushed.
“It’s so blatant; it’s a lack of understanding. Neil Swarbrick, who is the head of VAR, was on VAR. That’s the worrying thing, and I’m sorry, you have to name the people who are making these mistakes. “He is in charge; that is a concern. It’s a lack of understanding, a real lack of understanding in football.”
Alan Shearer also shared the same sentiment with Danny Murphy, saying: “It’s a shocking decision, a shocking decision.”
Former Chelsea right back Emerson has revealed that he prayed that VAR should not give a penalty on the Tomas Soucek handball incident.
He told BT Sports after the game: “I pray for the VAR, but it’s okay. “It was a tough game; they played very well, we suffered a lot and ran a lot, but in the end, it’s an important point against a big team; we need to keep in this way.”
