West Ham United were denied what many fans felt was a blatant penalty during the first half of Saturday’s 3-0 London derby defeat by Chelsea.
The Hammers were already 2-0 down thanks to an early Nicolas Jackson double when Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana grabbed hold of Crysencio Summerville inside the 18-yard box just before the half-hour mark.
Referee Samuel Barrott did not point to the spot but the incident was then reviewed by the VAR team.
Following a short review, the VAR advised referee Barrott to stick with his original decision, much to the annoyance of West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui.
The rationale behind that decision, as communicated by the TNT Sports commentary team, was apparently that Fofana’s grab on Summerville had only been ‘fleeting’. This explanation only seemed to annoy viewers even more.
One West Ham fan tweeted: ‘Looked several times and still can’t understand how this isn’t a West Ham penalty. Fofana clearly pulls Summerville back and stops him from running onto the ball, which is a foul. Game has gone.’
Another tweet read: ‘If fleeting means “pulled player down and stopped him getting to the ball in the penalty box” then VAR are absolutely bang on.’
A third post read: ‘Do you see how VAR pick and choose who they want to punish? Blatant arm pull, and they’ve described it as “fleeting”.’
A different fan added: ‘PGMOL have introduced buzzwords like “fleeting” to excuse any decision even if it happens again in a different game with a different outcome.
‘They’ve developed a catch 22 system that allows them to literally decide any game as they please. Soon it won’t be a league worth watching’.
Journalist Henry Winter also expressed his bafflement at the decision.
Winter tweeted: ‘”Fleeting”!! Fofana held on to Summerville longer than “fleeting’. That’s a pen. That’s what VAR is there for – to catch “clear and obvious” errors like that. #WHUFC have been poor but that’s a bad decision against them.’
The Premier League Match Centre also took to Twitter in an attempt the explain the controversial call.
The tweet, which was displayed on the big screen at the London Stadium, read: ‘The referee’s call of no penalty for the challenge by Fofana on Summerville is checked and confirmed by VAR – deeming that this was not sustained holding.’
Although Fofana got away with this ‘challenge’ on Summerville, the Chelsea defender was shown a yellow card towards the end of the first half after bringing Summerville down again, albeit not inside the penalty area.
Joe Cole – who played for both West Ham and Chelsea during his career – then said during TNT’s half-time analysis: ‘I think it’s a penalty. He’s got hold of him, he’s got the wrong side of him.
‘If you put your hands on someone in the box it’s a penalty. Ultimately he (the referee) is the professional and he’s got the best view in the house. But I can really feel for West Ham.’
After scoring Chelsea’s first two goals of the game, Jackson assisted Cole Palmer for the third early in the second half.
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