Ref and VAR praised for ‘really good teamwork’ in disallowing of West Ham goal

By Jamie Gardner, Press Association Chief Sports Reporter

The match officials “worked perfectly together” on the decision to disallow a crucial West Ham goal at the end of Sunday’s Premier League match against Arsenal, former top-flight referee Chris Foy has said.

Referee Chris Kavanagh initially awarded Callum Wilson’s injury-time equaliser but changed his decision after being advised to review it by VAR Darren England.

The officials ruled Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya was fouled by Pablo Felipe as he attempted to claim a corner. It is one of the most pivotal VAR calls in Premier League history, impacting both the top and bottom of the division.

West Ham are understood to be contacting Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) to raise their concerns about the incident and seek further explanation, but, in Foy’s view, the right outcome was reached.

“It has generated a lot of debate, a lot of discussion, a lot of noise, but they got the decision right,” he told the Press Association.

“Darren England and Chris Kavanagh worked perfectly together on this. Chris Kavanagh didn’t see the action of Pablo on Raya and, quite clearly, he has got his arm across (Raya’s) chest. He’s got no intention of challenging for the ball, but moreover, he has actually got hold of (Raya’s) arm and doesn’t let go.

“Chris Kavanagh can’t see that – it’s a clear non-football action, it has a material impact on the goalkeeper.

“Darren England has looked at that and he took his time and he’s been criticised for the amount of time it took. But I have to be totally honest with you, there was so much to check. It had to be done properly.

“So it was really good teamwork – calm, composed. Some people are saying it’s the biggest VAR decision in history and I probably couldn’t disagree with that at this present moment in time, but I want to give some praise to those two for the work they did and the outcome.”

Foy said part of what England would have been checking was the sequence of events, and whether any clear or obvious fouls occurred in the split seconds before the challenge on Raya.

“He has got to check everything, because there was a suggestion that Declan Rice had committed a foul but that was after what had happened to Raya,” Foy added.

“This is where we are with the Premier League, but the standout incident in this is actually the fact that the goalkeeper can’t jump, can’t catch the ball. He’s clearly being impeded. As I said, it took a little bit of time, but it was the right thing to do, and it’s the right judgement.”