There was huge controversy in the final minutes at the London Stadium when Chelsea were denied what looked like a clear penalty for a handball by Tomas Soucek.
With the score at 1-1, Conor Gallagher pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and fired a shot goalwards.
The ball was heading towards the bottom corner when West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek threw himself down and blocked the ball with his hand.
Referee Craig Pawson waved away Chelsea protests, there was then a VAR check but no penalty was given.
"He more or less saved it! It was a great save!"
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 11, 2023
"I would have been going crazy! It's unbelievable!"@rioferdy5, Gianfranco Zola and Joe Cole were all baffled as to how Chelsea weren't awarded a late penalty vs. West Ham for a Tomas Soucek handball... 🔎 pic.twitter.com/GszZLP4W99
Chelsea’s Twitter admin made their feelings clear when the official club account tweeted: “Soucek makes a great save from Conor Gallagher.”
Former Premier League referee Peter Walton was working the game for BT Sport and felt a penalty should have been awarded. But he explained why VAR did not intervene.
“The law is quite clear,” said Walton. “The law says about making that area unnaturally bigger. The VAR clearly thinks the arm was in a natural position… going down to break his fall.
“If you look at it closely, you see the ball is past his knee and then the arm is there. For me, that is a deliberate act and I am disappointed the VAR did not give the referee an opportunity to have a second look at it.”
Walton added: “In the law, you could almost defend the player by saying his arm was in a natural position.
“But really, football as a community would want that given as a penalty kick. As a former Premier League referee, I think that was the wrong decision today and should have been a penalty.”
