West Ham United: Dermot Gallagher makes ‘gone on longer’ claim after Aston Villa controversy
West Ham were on the receiving end of the right decision when their last-minute goal against Aston Villa was disallowed.
That is according to former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, with Tomas Soucek finding the back of the net in the match on Sunday (17 March).
But after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out for handball, with the London Stadium clash ending in a 1-1 draw.
“I think it would have been disallowed anyway and it could have gone on longer,” Gallagher said, as per Sky Sports. “When it happened, I hear the VAR say to the referee ‘bear with me, this is going to take a long time’. He used the word ‘complex’.
“If you go through the process, the first is – is it offside? That took time. Is it handball? Bear in mind, there are two different handball offences that have taken place here. If it goes in off Bowen’s hand, it’s automatically disallowed because of what we saw with Antonio earlier in the game.
“If it strikes Soucek’s hand, it didn’t result in a goal, it led to another player possibly scoring a goal. So it had to be a deliberate handball and they took a long time to find the angles.
“If they had decided it wasn’t handball, they then would have defaulted to a foul on Ezri Konsa because I think Soucek grabs him and pulls him down. However you look at it, I think it’s the right decision.”
West Ham versus Aston Villa at the London Stadium filled with controversy
Both the Hammers and Villa will have been tired going into their Premier League clash at the London Stadium, with the two clubs having been in European action just a few days earlier.
But that didn’t stop the game in East London from being a very exciting one, with the encounter filled with action and controversy.
Dominating the headlines is Soucek’s late goal that was ruled out for offside, a decision that infuriated manager David Moyes and the majority of people inside the London Stadium.
But before that, Hammers striker Michail Antonio also had a goal ruled out for handball, having found the back of the net earlier to put the hosts 1-0 up.
Nicolo Zaniolo equalised for the visitors with just over 10 minutes to go, with the point leaving West Ham in seventh place in the Premier League table and Villa in fourth, with both having played 29 matches.
In other West Ham news, journalist Ben Jacobs has issued a transfer stance on one London Stadium-linked attacker.
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