Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has waded into the West Ham v Arsenal VAR debate by declaring referee Chris Kavanagh made the correct decision.
De Zerbi was speaking after claiming his own side were hard done by after PGMOL officials decided against awarding Spurs a penalty for a foul on James Maddison during Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United. The former Brighton boss was rattled and perhaps for the first time, displayed a chink in the armour in terms of confidence.
And let’s be honest, it’s hardly shocking to see the Tottenham boss disagreeing with decisions that go against Spurs whilst simultaneously supporting ones which go against West Ham.
But whilst De Zerbi’s comments were fairly predictable, it was actually Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner who produced the line which really made me laugh.
Glasner Delivers The Perfect Response
Palace face Arsenal in the final game of the season and there’s already been plenty of noise suggesting both sides may take things relatively easy.
The Eagles are preparing for a Europa Conference League final whilst Arsenal have a Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon.
Naturally, that’s led to questions over whether Palace will really go full throttle against the Gunners with their Premier League season effectively over.
When Glasner was asked whether his side would still play with full intensity in order to maintain the integrity of the Premier League, his response was absolutely superb.
“We’ll have less impact on the title than VAR.”
Touché.
Even Rival Fans Are Questioning The Decision
At this point, it increasingly feels as though only Arsenal supporters, PGMOL, Howard Webb and Chris Kavanagh believe the correct outcome was reached.
The reaction from pundits, former players, managers and supporters over the last few days has been overwhelmingly against the decision to disallow West Ham’s late equaliser.
And the more people analyse the incident, the worse it seems to look for the officials involved.
Particularly when you factor in the apparent acknowledgement inside the VAR booth that there were concerns over the actions of Leandro Trossard in the build-up. The real question is why Kavanagh was not shown the extended footage having been urged to by the video referee who said:
“I don’t like Trossard not facing the ball, it is impactful, it’s just everything else that’s going on as well. If we’re saying that’s a foul [against Raya], then what we’re saying about Trossard’s actions on the same player, and what we’re saying about Declan Rice.”
What followed was the referee being shown the same second long clip repeatedly rather than the foul by Trossard which saw him manhandle Pablo into the path of Raya.
The correct decision was made as Pablo is holding Raya’s arm and they are meant to deal with any incident dealing with the keeper first. Pablo is an idiot because if he doesn’t put his arm there West Ham probably get a penalty. The only reasons it’s controversial is the lack of clarity, the inconsistency and the fact it’s Arsenal who have been getting away with that all season. Raya of course makes a meal of it but all keepers do that. Anyway, the decision is unlikely to change anything due to West Ham’s poor goal difference. Hopefully any sense of injustice will inspire them for last 2 games.
But no one held fab hand or pull his shirt
Ever since VAR I don’t celebrate goals anymore . Is it offside or was there a foul ? The joy has been sucked from the game . The sport is enormously devalued now . In every football match there’s perhaps 20 bad decisions when factoring line calls and foul/no foul situations . The question is why bother having on field officials ? Let AI handle it in a fraction of a second so that the flow of the game isn’t broken and fans can celebrate as we used to in the olden days .
I’m the same Phil. It killed the joy mate
if Howard Webb,heads these referees, what chance have we got.By only focussing on the Raya incident, and not the 3 earlier incidents, all fouls in my opinion on WHU players, then this obviously means that there is an Agenda to get Arteta the title.
Arsenal have been doing precisely what Pablo was judged to have done, over last few seasons.I remember Fabianski being prevented from getting the ball a few years ago, by both the same centre backs as played against Fab,and nothing given against the number 5’s,by Anthony Taylor
When it happened to arsenal nobody talked. It baffles me seriously. Last time it happened when they scored against arsenal everyone see the ball has gone out but they scored nobody talked.
I’m a Spurs fan and think that West Ham’s goal should have stood. I despise the Woolwich Goons – I despise Cheating Chelski – but as much as most think Spurs / West Ham is as bad, I actually enjoy watching West Ham. It’s tragic they left The Boleyn as like the old WHL, it had a rocking atmosphere and it’s tragic that either the hammers or Spurs have to go down as those derbies I enjoy as opposed to the angry fests of the other derbies. It’s a shame Forest have got out of it. Of course I want Spurs to stay up, but good luck to you guys whatever happens. Great club like Spurs with a historic fan base unlike those morons mentioned above with playground histories and pretentiousness
Dry your eyes gonzo .even a blind man could see Raya was fouled.not once,not twice,but 3 time.get over it.& this comes from a gooner who would love to see spursy go down.as for the ‘ pundits’.look at who they are.all have a massive chip on their shoulder lol
Typical gooner…eyes shut,mouth open.
Where do you get 3 fouls on Raya?
But ignore the fouls on Pablo (before the contact with Raya) & Mavropanous
Hi Gonzo
Good post – I was gutted when they chalked off the goal
Now Refs have got a stake in VAR – it must bring in extra money for them they will always say that it works
The unfortunate thing is last season when we didn’t really need it we got the rub of the green with VAR decisions (at home against Man U and also against Wolves) – in the last two matches VAR has cost us – what would have happened vs Brentford if their first goal was disallowed for the foul on Mavropanos and then Mavro’s elbow was not ruled offside?
At least the team are showing fight and not rolling over
COYI
Maybe someone should interview Howard Webb and ask him to clarify the following IFAB Law 12.
Considering that VAR intervened, the referee was obliged to review all relevant actions inside the penalty area leading up to the incident. Based on IFAB Law 12, there were at least three offences that should have been penalised before the attacker’s arm was judged to have fouled the goalkeeper.
First, the defender positioned with his back to the ball was clearly interfering with the attacker’s movement. The referee did not consider this at all, despite the fact that the Laws explicitly address such situations.
Under IFAB Law 12, the following interpretations apply:
1. Impeding the Progress of an Opponent (Without Contact)
If a defender moves into the attacker’s path to obstruct, block, or force a change of direction — and the ball is not within playing distance — this constitutes impeding the progress of an opponent without contact.
Sanction: An indirect free kick to the attacking team.
Key point: A player has a right to their position, but moving into the way while ignoring the ball is an offence.
2. Impeding With Contact (Holding, Blocking, Pushing)
If the defender makes physical contact while not attempting to play the ball, the offence becomes more serious.
Sanction: A direct free kick or penalty if it occurs inside the penalty area.
Disciplinary:
• Careless → no card
• Reckless or deliberate → yellow card for unsporting behaviour
Given these definitions, the defender’s actions meet the criteria for at least one — and arguably multiple — offences. These should have been reviewed by VAR and penalised accordingly before assessing any potential foul by the attacker.
Gonzo let’s face it, the decision was wrong on so many levels and they all know it, but it’s that protection of the big six. Premier league will be soon (if not already) seen as a place where cheating indecisive decisions and poor officials are standard. The inconsistent decisions level are sky high and should be addressed ASAP, but ofcourse this won’t happen because these are the type of things that give the league publicity that brings in more money and that’s all they want.
I agree Rob mate
Try harder. [had to edit your response, it’s not social media so no abuse please]