Peter Schmeichel criticized the decision to disallow Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time goal in West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday, insisting the call was incorrect and accusing Arsenal of capitalizing on a double standard that has not been challenged all season.
Wilson appeared to save a point for the Hammers in the 95th minute, but referee Chris Kavanagh overturned his decision after a lengthy review of the video assistant referee technology confirmed that West Ham striker Pablo committed a foul against Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya during the build-up of the attack.
The invitation has divided football. Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles at Manchester United before ending his career at Manchester City, and was scathing in his criticism of the incident.
“What makes me really angry is that Arsenal would never be top of the league if that was a free-kick,” the former Denmark international said. “That’s how they scored a lot of goals, by tackling people, holding people down, doing all sorts of things.
“And then we get to this point, the VAR takes five minutes. It starts over and over again – that in itself puts so much doubt in that decision that it can’t be a free-kick.
“I think this is a big mistake. I don’t understand why suddenly this is a free kick, because it hasn’t been for any team all season. It’s a big mistake on many levels.”
Shearer and Rooney support Kavanagh’s call
Not everyone agreed with Schmeichel’s reading of the incident. Both Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney defended the decision, although Shearer’s support came alongside wider complaints about inconsistency over the course of the season.
“I think some people will think it was a mistake, some won’t, and some will wonder: Where on earth is the consistency?” Because we see something like this every week,” Shearer said on The Rest is Football podcast.
“I think it was a foul, but I also think the foul he made against Everton last week with Bernardo Silva, when that was called a foul, obviously the defender – where was the VAR for that foul?
“We have this discussion all the time, and it takes a very long time. I know it’s a very important decision, but so is every decision.”
Rooney, speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, was more vocal in his support of the call.
“It’s a clear foul. I think you can clearly see the arm coming into his face and affecting his access to the ball. So I think it’s the right decision. It’s the only time I think VAR did a really good job in such an important match.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also addressed the decision after the match, describing it as a moment of real courage from officials given the weight of what was at stake.
“When I had to criticize, I was like that. Today I have to congratulate them. It took a lot of courage to stand out and give the referee the opportunity to have a look at the game. When you see the picture, I think there is no doubt that it is a clear foul.”
The result put Arsenal five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the English Premier League with two matches remaining, leaving the Gunners needing another win to secure their first league title since 2004.
