Chelsea have been told on good authority that they were denied a cast iron penalty against West Ham. Thomas Soucek's late handball was waved away by referee Craig Pawson whilst VAR official Neil Swarbrick also failed to award them a spot-kick.
The decision, or lack off, has caused great debate over a weekend dominated by controversial calls from referees and their video assistants. Both Arsenal and Brighton were contacted by new PGMOL chief Howard Webb after they were impacted by 'human error' on Saturday.
Graham Potter's side received no such word from former Premier League referee Webb and can feel aggrieved at not having the chance to win the game from 12 yards against the Hammers. Potter himself took aim at the outcome whilst Chelsea's social media team also continued to make the point.
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Pundits Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and Gianfranco Zola were all in agreement that the wrong call was made whilst former referee Peter Walton also went against the on-field and VAR decision, explaining that there should have been a penalty awarded. In the days since the call was made it has almost been unanimously called that Soucek should have been punished.
Now ex-official Dermot Gallagher is the latest to come out and offer his verdict. Speaking on Sky Sports, he was clear in the view that it was a blatant mistake. "It's definitely a penalty," he started. "I've spoken to very few people who don't think it's a penalty.
"VAR felt it fell into this bracket of falling and the arm hitting the floor, and the ball striking the arm. If you look at Soucek, he doesn't fall to the floor - he actually drives towards the ball. It's a goalkeeper-type movement.
"I think that's what the VAR got seduced by - the idea of falling to the floor. But again, if you look at it a few times, it's certainly a handball penalty."
The action of Soucek sticking his arm out has been labelled ironically by many as being a goalkeeper-like save, with Potter taking this route of explanation. After the game he said, "I thought it was a good save so you need your goalkeeper sometimes to get you the points. It hasn't been given so there's nothing for me to say."
Although even those comments have come under fire with some claiming that it was a chance to assert authority and divert attention away from his side's poor form. Potter will be hoping that Champions League VAR is kinder to his team if needed during their last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
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