West Ham get instant answer to Brighton controversy as Premier League make announcement
West Ham United felt Georginio Rutter’s equaliser for Brighton on Sunday should have been ruled out.
Rutter struck in the 91st minute at the Amex Stadium to cancel out Jarrod Bowen’s brilliantly taken strike 20 minutes earlier.
West Ham had to settle with a 1-1 draw against Brighton in the end, meaning they remain in the Premier League bottom three.
Brighton and West Ham struggled in a low-quality first half, summed up by an awful Konstantinos Mavropanos moment, but the second half certainly proved entertaining.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men were not happy that the referee did not chalk out Rutter’s equaliser, though, for a couple of different reasons.
Premier League release statement after Georginio Rutter goal
Bowen was superb for West Ham on the South Coast – when is he not? – but what should have been a match-winning moment was cancelled out.
Rutter blasted the ball into the back of the net from a few yards out after a scramble inside the West Ham penalty area.
However, the former Leeds United man only did so after a couple of contentious moments in the build-up.
First, there was a high boot on Mavropanos, and soon after the ball clearly struck Rutter on the arm – albeit not directly before he scored.
Simon Hooper’s call was backed by VAR and the goal therefore stood, much to the annoyance of the travelling fans.
In a statement posted via their Match Centre account shortly after the incident, the Premier League side: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with it deemed that Rutter’s arm was in a natural position and he did not deliberately handle the ball, and the contact with the arm was not immediately prior to him scoring.”
Tellingly, the announcement does not cover the high boot earlier in the attack.
Brighton 1-1 West Ham match stats – and why they don’t tell whole story
West Ham were second favourites against Brighton, so a point is certainly not a bad outcome from this tricky away test.
But the circumstances around the win certainly make it frustrating.
| Brighton | West Ham | |
| 1 | Goals | 1 |
| 1.7 | Expected goals (xG) | 1.14 |
| 22 | Shots | 14 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 5 |
| 67.7% | Possession | 32.3% |
West Ham had an expected goals (xG) return of 1.14, compared to 1.7, while they were outshot 22-14.
However, West Ham had more shots on target (five to four) and ultimately only felt under pressure when defending a lead.
Brighton looked like a top-half team only when going behind, and it is fair to say West Ham are good value for a point at the very least.
As frustrating as it is, draws at Manchester United and Brighton in the space of a couple of days is not the worst outcome.
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