March 17, (THEWILL)- A farcical Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision marred West Ham United’s English Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Sunday. The match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, saw referee Jarred Gillett and VAR Tony Harrington spend over five minutes deliberating whether a scrappy stoppage-time goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos had struck the arm of Tomas Soucek on its way in.
The replays appeared inconclusive, with a post obscuring the view of a sea of arms and legs on the goal-line. Despite the lack of clear evidence, the goal was eventually ruled out, leaving West Ham manager David Moyes dismayed. It was one of the goals chalked off for the Hammers during the match, with Nicolo Zaniolo’s strike rescuing a point for Villa after Michail Antonio had headed West Ham into a first-half lead.
Moyes had opted to stick with the four-pronged attack that put five past Freiburg in the Europa League on Thursday, with Antonio leading the line ahead of Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, and Jarrod Bowen. West Ham adopted an uncharacteristic pressing game, rattling Villa and creating several chances in the first half. Antonio’s diving header from Vladimir Coufal’s cross gave the Hammers the lead after half an hour for the only goal in the half.
West Ham had a goal controversially ruled out just after the break when Antonio bundled in a Bowen corner. VAR Harrington deemed that Antonio had put the ball in with his arm, despite Martinez appearing to miss the ball completely. Villa rallied as West Ham’s energy levels dipped, and Alphonse Areola was forced into saves from Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa before Zaniolo equalised after 78 minutes, prodding home Moussa Diaby’s cutback.
In stoppage time, Matty Cash denied what looked like a certain goal for James Ward-Prowse. Bowen and Soucek attempted to force the ball over the line, but after more than four minutes of deliberation, Gillett disallowed the goal, ruling that Soucek had used his arm. The decision was met with a chorus of boos and earned Moyes an earful with the match official after the final whistle.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
