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

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 on the London Stadium on Sunday as Arsenal restored their five-point advantage at the highest of the Premier League.

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

There have been wild scenes because the England forward – who had come on instead of Axel Disasi – struck through a crowd of bodies following a corner to send the house 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 – within the build-up.

During a lengthy check, totalling 4 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 one other 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 within the drop zone and staring down the barrel of relegation with two games remaining of the campaign.

Within the intervening days, the choice has proven a hot topic of dialogue amongst fans and pundits alike. Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jamie Redknapp were all agreement that the right call was made while looking back over the incident within the Sky Sports studio.

Others took a special view, though, including ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who insisted the choice was ‘so improper on so many levels’ during Viaplay’s coverage of the motion.

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

‘Certainly one of the good things about this show is that it gives us a possibility to indicate the world the best way officials work through some of these situations, a completely huge one on this case,’ Webb explained.

‘It allows people to listen to the communications, it allows us to indicate the method they’re going through, it allows us to be really transparent which is what we’ve at all times said we desired to be.

‘You’ll see in that situation that it takes a little bit of time because they’re going through a process diligently, because they really respect the sport they usually’re aware, after all, of the scale of this example, of the importance of this example.

‘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 due to this fact they’ll’t do their job, they’ll be penalised. 

‘We’re not only talking about contact with goalkeepers, we’re talking about a particular style of contact when the goalkeeper’s arms or hands are being interfered with, stopping them doing their job.

‘So, whenever you see the most effective 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.’

In response to Webb, the foul from Pablo on Raya was ‘clear and obvious’ because it prevented Arsenal’s primary from reacting how he would ‘normally’ in that situation.

He went on: ‘Though it’s not clear and obvious to the referee, because he’s got an enormous group of players within the penalty area, and it’s difficult to see, when the VAR sees this, after all they must get entangled.

‘But what we also hear is the VAR doing goes through every little thing else because he desires to be certain that that that is the one 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, they usually intervene they usually come to the appropriate decision.’

When asked why other instances of grappling from Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and Trossard – happening at the identical time – had been neglected, Webb replied: ‘It’s query. We’re within the Premier League and we all know that not every contact is a foul.

‘We seek the advice of on a regular basis with the clubs, with the fan groups, with a variety of other stakeholders in regards to the style of game that they need to see and the way they need us to officiate it.

‘This season has been a little bit bit more unique than previous ones in regards to the variety of contacts within the penalty area and it does create a challenge for the officials.

‘But after they’re attempting to discover what ought to be penalised, they’re in search of situations which might be impactful. Situations occur otherwise, 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 type of contact.

‘Once I say they’re in search of 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 on this moment is, after all, the goalkeeper. He’s got a singular ability to make use of his hands and what we see in this example, different to the opposite situations across the penalty area, is the goalkeeper can’t try this job due to that very clear motion from the attacker which prevents him putting his arm up.

‘He’s 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 essentially 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 could be open to the potential of introducing latest rules to combat wrestling and holding contained in the box for next season.

‘Perhaps. We’ll definitely proceed consulting with all of the people I discussed earlier in regards to the style of game they need to see,’ Webb, who took charge of each the Champions League final and the World Cup final in 2010, explained.

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

‘We’ll proceed consulting but we definitely should be vigilant and discover those clear actions which might be impactful.

‘We’ve done higher this 12 months, we’ve penalised twice as many holding penalties than we did last 12 months, 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. That is different and because of this this one is a transparent offence and use of VAR.

‘It took a while, we have now to take our time to get it right on this really necessary situation, and also you’ll see this example being identified, and rightly so.

‘The VAR beneficial the referee checked out the screen and checked out every little thing, not only that individual situation. They were diligent, they checked out the whole piece, and were in a position to discover the offence that needed penalising.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the newest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

MORE: Man Utd make Andoni Iraola managerial decision amid Chelsea links

MORE: Arsenal dealt major injury blow ahead of Champions League final with PSG

MORE: PSG open talks to sign Arsenal goal and hijack £130m summer transfer