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West Ham’s goal ruled out
In the Premier League on Sunday, West Ham’s equalising goal against Arsenal was ruled out after VAR detected a foul by Pablo on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
“It gave the Gunners a 1-0 win to keep the title in their own hands”
The BBC described the outcome as giving the Gunners a 1-0 win and deepening West Ham’s relegation worries, while also setting the decision alongside another late VAR moment on Wednesday night.
Howard Webb, the chief of Professional Game Match Officials, defended the process on Match Officials Mic’d Up, saying, "Is it a foul on the goalkeeper? Categorically yes."
The Guardian’s Jonathan Liew detailed the on-field-to-monitor sequence at West Ham, including that "only two minutes and 35 seconds elapse" between the ball crossing the Arsenal goalline and Darren England pushing the large red button to send Chris Kavanagh to the replay screen.
Liew also reported that Kavanagh watched 17 replays of the incident as England urged him to "Go back to the second angle you showed me," before the final review concluded with "Foul. No goal."
Webb praises decision-making
Howard Webb told Match Officials Mic’d Up that the VAR intervention was necessary because "they really respect the game," framing the time spent reviewing as part of a diligent process.
Sports Illustrated released VAR audio from the Arsenal-West Ham incident, including Webb’s insistence that, "When you see the best angle on this, you’ll see that that’s what happens from Pablo."
The BBC quoted Danny Murphy on MOTD, arguing that the controversy around West Ham not being given the goal was because it was Arsenal, adding, "Just because it's Arsenal we shouldn't get it distorted."
In the same BBC account of the wider VAR debate, it contrasted the Premier League decision with a Scotland incident where VAR intervened to give a penalty for handball against Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson with just eight seconds remaining in added time.
The BBC also described how the West Ham review unfolded, noting that Darren England spent two minutes 41 seconds poring over every angle and that once at the monitor, Chris Kavanagh watched 17 different replays, with the review lasting four minutes 11 seconds.
FIFA and IFAB respond
Beyond the Premier League, SPORTbible said FIFA took action days after the controversial VAR call in West Ham vs Arsenal, aiming to prevent penalty-area grappling during the World Cup this summer.
“explaining to coaches that a ‘hard line’ will be taken on the matter”
SPORTbible reported that FIFA is reviewing how it can give referees more powers to prevent penalty-area grappling, explaining to coaches that a "hard line" will be taken on the matter.
The same outlet said the International Football Association Board (IFAB) was set to undertake a long-term review of the issues, while also stating that changes were unlikely to be made before the upcoming tournament.
In the BBC’s comparison of VAR’s effects across leagues, it described how VAR intervention in Scotland could change title calculations, saying the VAR decision meant that "any win will now be sufficient" for Martin O'Neill’s men.
The BBC also tied the differences in VAR outcomes to how the reviews were conducted, noting that in England there is a minimum of 28 cameras available to VAR at each ground, while in Scotland most games have a minimum of just six cameras.
