Arsenal match plunged into controversy as video evidence of ‘VAR mistake’ emerges | Football | Sport

Fans have been left raging after video footage of Declan Rice holding Konstantinos Mavropanos’ shirt during the incident that led to West Ham United’s equalising goal being disallowed. Arsenal had netted late on to put themselves in cruise control of the title race, but it looked as if it would be blown back open when Callum Wilson’s effort crossed the line deep into added time.

However, the celebrations inside the London Stadium were cut short when Chris Kavanagh was instructed to go to the monitor for a closer look at Pablo holding David Raya’s arm. After watching several replays of the melee, the referee ruled in favour of the title challengers, with a decision that could prove pivotal at both ends of the Premier League table.

But furious fans have pointed out that while the West Ham attacker was grappling with Raya, there were several other incidents going on at the same time. One involving Rice, who was gripping Mavropanos by the waist as the ball was crossed into the box.

Speaking on Sky Sports commentary, Peter Drury and Gary Neville did relay that VAR took this into consideration, but said it didn’t have an impact on the decision because it occurred after the Raya and Pablo altercation. However, the reverse angle of the coming together shows Rice was holding on to Mavropanos before the incident that eventually led to the disallowed goal.

A lot of the frustration from fans, players and managers alike stems from the lack of consistency applied to grappling in the penalty area. Arsenal have built their title challenge on the effectiveness of set-pieces, and have got away with similar incidents throughout the campaign.

On the opening day of the season, Arsenal won the match via a set-piece goal, but replays showed William Saliba had hold of the arm of Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. It’s something West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen referenced in his post-match debrief with Sky Sports, hinting the referee had made a mistake with his decision.

He said: “Yeah [hard done by]. There is a lot of ways I could go about answering this question.

“Because we are on the receiving end, we will feel hard done by. Football is a sport that brings enjoyment and brings big moments. We had our big moment and thought we got back in the game. Look at something for five minutes, trying to find something.

Before adding: “Goalkeepers are protected more than outfield players and there is a lot of holding inside the box. Are you going to look at those every time and give a penalty? That is the only way that is the right way to do it. You can’t wipe a goalkeeper out but the keeper has come in to grab the ball and has to expect contact. It’s the Premier League; there is going to be contact.

“We had one at Brentford last week when Tomas Soucek got pulled at the back post and did not get a penalty. I just think, like I said, if you look at something long enough, you will find something to give. I can guarantee that pundits and people watching know football is a physical game. If you’re going to give it, give it every week. Where is the line and where is the bar?”