Sky Sports pundit loses it live on air after major incident in West Ham United win v Fulham
Courtney Sweetman-Kirk couldn’t believe what she was seeing as West Ham were gifted a penalty by Andreas Pereira in their 3-1 win over Fulham on Sunday.
The Hammers were 1-0 down thanks to a Pereira wonder goal early on, but were handed a perfect opportunity to get back in the game when the Brazilian fouled Craig Dawson in the box despite repeated warnings from the referee.
Sweetman-Kirk was watching the game for Sky Sports [9 October] and reacted furiously at the incident, labelling Pereira “absolutely ridiculous” for his part in it by not listening to Chris Kavanagh.
“A penalty has just been given and it’s absolutely ridiculous from Pereira,” she said.
“He’s wrestling with Dawson. He’s not looking at the ball. The referee has then stopped the play and he’s told him. He’s given him two warnings. We know you can block the runner, but it’s the way you do it. He’s not even looking at the ball.
“So like I say the referee has spoken to him. The corner comes in, he’s not looking at the ball and he may as well rugby tackle him. Inevitable, the referee points to the spot and rightly so.
“He’s probably lucky he gave him two warnings and now it’s all kicking off. He literally clotheslines him, it’s ridiculous.
“Dawson’s quite clever because he knows he’s given Pereira two warnings, so he’s thinking ‘if I can get a little contact here I’m doing down’.”
Gift
West Ham started slowly and they got an absolute gift to allow themselves back into the game, but not enough credit is being given to Dawson for his part in it.
Dawson was clearly outmatching the man being tasked with marking him and knew that meant the defender would have to get physical to stop him attacking the ball if the cross in was right.
But by alerting the referee to the initial contact early on and ensuring there was an eye on it, it meant he was able to manipulate the situation in his favour and win the penalty for his side.
The character of the side after that moment in particular was outstanding and they ensured that the result they got was the one they deserved as the better team over the course of the game.
Moyes has got the team firing again and three wins in a row is a testament to that, so hopefully they can keep that going now ahead of the midweek clash with Anderlecht and next Sunday’s game with Southampton.