PGMOL boss Howard Webb delivers verdict on West Ham disallowed goal vs Arsenal

PGMOL chief Howard Webb has praised referee Chris Kavanagh and his team for penalising a ‘clear and obvious offence’ against David Raya in West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Leandro Trossard scored what proved to be the decisive goal at the London Stadium on Sunday as Arsenal restored their five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League.

But there was a moment of high-drama and controversy with ramifications at both ends of the table after Trossard’s deflected 83rd-minute strike, as Callum Wilson had an equaliser disallowed deep into stoppage time.

There were wild scenes as the England forward – who had come on in place of Axel Disasi – struck through a crowd of bodies following a corner to send the home crowd into raptures.

The celebrations were short-lived, though, with replays showing fellow substitute Pablo stretching his left arm across the chest of Raya – and grabbing the Spaniard’s left arm – in the build-up.

During a lengthy check, totalling four minutes and 17 seconds, video assistant referee Darren England instructed referee Kavanagh to review the footage on his pitchside monitor – and the goal was eventually chalked off.

Mikel Arteta’s men held firm and clung on for the remaining seconds to take another giant step towards the Premier League title, which has eluded the club for 22 years. The Hammers, meanwhile, have been left to lick their wounds, stranded in the drop zone and staring down the barrel of relegation with two games remaining of the campaign.

In the intervening days, the decision has proven a hot topic of discussion amongst fans and pundits alike. Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jamie Redknapp were all agreement that the correct call was made while looking back over the incident in the Sky Sports studio.

Others took a different view, though, including ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who insisted the decision was ‘so wrong on so many levels’ during Viaplay’s coverage of the action.

In the latest instalment of Match Officials Mic’d Up, uploaded two days on from the match in question, former Premier League referee Webb explained why he felt confident the officials eventually arrived at the ‘right’ conclusion.

‘One of the great things about this show is that it gives us an opportunity to show the world the way officials work through these types of situations, an absolutely huge one in this case,’ Webb explained.

‘It allows people to hear the communications, it allows us to show the process they’re going through, it allows us to be really transparent which is what we’ve always said we wanted to be.

‘You’ll see in that situation that it takes a bit of time because they’re going through a process diligently, because they really respect the game and they’re aware, of course, of the size of this situation, of the importance of this situation.

‘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 arm 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.’

According to Webb, the foul from Pablo on Raya was ‘clear and obvious’ as it prevented Arsenal’s number one from reacting how he would ‘normally’ in that situation.

He went on: ‘Even though it’s not clear and obvious to the referee, because he’s got a huge 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 is the VAR doing is going through everything else because he wants to make sure that this is the only clear and obvious offence that needs intervening upon.

‘Really impactful, Raya can’t do what he would normally do in that situation, simply catch the ball or punch the ball, and they intervene and they come to the right decision.’

When asked why other instances of grappling from Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and Trossard – happening at the same time – had been overlooked, Webb replied: ‘It’s a good question. 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 has 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. Situations happen differently, sometimes the contact is lower than other times, sometimes it’s right on the ball and other times it’s away from the ball. We’ll allow some form of contact.

‘When I say they’re looking for impactful contact, they’re looking mainly for those situations which prevent the player from doing their job, moving, and particularly when it impacts their ability to play the ball.

‘A key player in this moment is, of course, the goalkeeper. He’s got a unique ability to use his hands and what we see in this situation, different to the other situations around the penalty area, is the goalkeeper can’t do that job because of that very clear action from the attacker which prevents him putting his arm up.

‘He is being held as well from behind by Todibo but there’s other bits and pieces of contact from other players, from Arsenal players too, but the most significant contact is undoubtedly the one on the goalkeeper. It stops him from doing something pretty routine, catching the ball.’

Webb confirmed that the PGMOL would be open to the possibility of introducing new rules to combat wrestling and holding inside the box for next season.

‘Maybe. We’ll certainly continue consulting with all the people I mentioned earlier about the type of game they want to see,’ Webb, who took charge of both the Champions League final and the World Cup final in 2010, explained.

‘We have seen more involvement from set-piece coaches, bringing players together in these areas.

‘We’ll continue consulting but we certainly need to be vigilant and identify those clear actions that are impactful.

‘We’ve done better this year, we’ve penalised twice as many holding penalties than we did last year, but we’ve missed some as well, we’ve missed some holding situations.

‘Not like this, though, where the goalkeeper’s arms are being interfered with. This is different and this is why this one is a clear offence and a good use of VAR.

‘It took some time, we have to take our time to get it right in this really important situation, and you’ll see this situation being identified, and rightly so.

‘The VAR recommended the referee looked at the screen and looked at everything, not just that individual situation. They were diligent, they looked at the entire piece, and were able to identify the offence that needed penalising.’

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