Peter Schmeichel has criticized the decision to disallow Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time goal in West Ham’s 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, insisting the call was wrong and accusing the Gunners of benefiting from a double standard that has not been denied all season.
Wilson appeared to have earned the Hammers a point in the 95th minute, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to overturn his decision after a lengthy VAR review confirmed that West Ham striker Pablo had fouled Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya in the build-up.
This call split the ball. Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles with Manchester United before ending his career at Manchester City, was furious in his criticism of the incident.
“What angers me the most is that Arsenal will not be at the top of the league if that is a free-kick,” said the former Denmark international. “They scored so many goals, by blocking people, holding people, doing all kinds of things.
“And then we get to this point, it takes five minutes for VAR. He restarts it, restarts it again – that alone casts so much doubt on that decision that it won’t be a free-kick.
“I think it’s wrong. I don’t understand why all of a sudden it’s a free-kick, because the teams have been playing all season. It’s very bad on many levels.”
Shearer and Rooney answered Kavanagh’s call
Not everyone agrees with Schmeichel’s reading of the incident. Both Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney defended the decision, although support for Shearer came with widespread complaints about inconsistency throughout the season.
“I think some people will think it was a mistake, some won’t, some will think, ‘Where on earth is the consistency?’ because we see something like that every week,” said Shearer on The Rest is Football podcast.
“I think it was a mistake but I also think the one at Everton last week with Bernardo Silva, when it was called a catch, obviously a defender – where was the VAR on that one?
“We always have these discussions, they take a very long time. I know it’s a very important decision, but it’s the same with all decisions.”
Rooney, speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, was outspoken in his support for the call.
“It’s an obvious mistake. I think you can clearly see the arm crossing his face and that affects him when he gets to the ball. So I think it’s the right decision. It’s the only time I think VAR has done a really good job in such an important game.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also spoke about the decision after the game, calling it a moment of real courage for officials given the weight of what was at stake.
“When I had to criticize, I kept congratulating them. You needed courage and bravery to stand out and give the referees a chance to look at what was going on. If you see the picture, I think there’s no question that it’s an obvious mistake.”
The result moved Arsenal five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with two games remaining, leaving the Gunners needing another win to secure their first league title since 2004.
