Howard Webb, the head of referees, has confirmed that the decision to disallow West Ham’s goal against Arsenal was justified due to “a clear and obvious offense” involving David Raya. He has also called for further conversations regarding grappling in the penalty area.
Callum Wilson scored a crucial equaliser for West Ham against the league leaders on Sunday, but the goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review due to Pablo‘s foul on Raya.
Gary Neville, a former defender for Manchester United, described this incident as “the biggest in VAR history,” highlighting its significant implications for both the Premier League title race and the relegation struggle.
During an episode of Match Officials Mic’d Up, Webb elaborated on the situation, stating that the foul was clear and warranted a penalty.
“Is it a foul on the goalkeeper? Absolutely yes,” Webb stated.
“When considered in context, this is undoubtedly the clear and obvious offense that must be penalised.”
“While there have been instances of holding that we’ve missed, this situation is different as the goalkeeper’s arms were being interfered with. Hence, we consider this a clear foul.”
Webb also mentioned that discussions will occur at the end of the season to address how to handle grappling, holding, and pushing within the penalty area to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
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“Raya was unable to execute what he normally would—either catching or punching the ball—due to interference, which led to the correct decision being made,” Webb added.
“We will keep consulting, but we must remain alert and identify the clear actions that have a significant impact.”