Peter Schmeichel has hit out at 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 the Gunners of benefiting from a double standard that has gone unchallenged all season.
Wilson appeared to have salvaged a point for the Hammers in the 95th minute, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to overturn his own decision after a lengthy VAR review confirmed that West Ham forward Pablo had fouled Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya in the build-up.
The call has divided football. Schmeichel, who won five Premier League titles at Manchester United before ending his career at Manchester City, was scathing in his criticism of the incident.
“What really makes me angry is that Arsenal would never be top of the league if that’s a free-kick,” the former Denmark international said. “That’s how they’ve scored so many goals, by blocking people, holding people, doing all kinds of things.
“And then we get to this point, it takes VAR five minutes. He starts it over again, and over again – that in itself puts so much doubt into that decision that it cannot be a free-kick.
“I think it’s so wrong. I just don’t understand why all of a sudden that’s a free-kick, because it’s not been for any teams all the way throughout the season. It’s just so wrong on so many levels.”
Shearer and Rooney back Kavanagh’s call
Not everyone agreed with Schmeichel’s reading of the incident. Both Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney defended the decision, though Shearer’s backing came with a broader complaint about inconsistency across the season.
“I guess some people will think it was a foul, some won’t, some will think, ‘Where on earth is the consistency?’ because we’re seeing something like that every single week,” Shearer said on The Rest is Football podcast.
“I do think it was a foul but I also think the one at Everton last week with Bernardo Silva, when that was given as holding, clearly the defender – where was VAR for that one?
“We’re having this discussion all the time, they’re taking far too long. I know it’s a hugely important decision, but so is every decision.”
Rooney, speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, was more straightforward in his support for the call.
“It’s a clear foul. I think you can clearly see the arm crosses his face and it impacts him getting to the ball. So I think it’s the right decision. It’s the one time I actually think VAR has done a really good job in such an important game.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also addressed the decision post-match, calling it a moment of genuine bravery from the officials given the weight of what was at stake.
“When I had to be critical, I have been. Today I have to congratulate them. You needed a lot of courage and bravery to stand out and give the opportunity to the referee to have a look at the action. When you see the picture, I think there is no question that it is a clear foul.”
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 one more win to secure their first league title since 2004.
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