Dermot Gallagher baffled by what happened in West Ham United v Wolves clash live on Sky Sports
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher was left baffled by Vladimir Coufal not being sanctioned in the clash between West Ham and Wolves on Sunday (17 December).
The Czech full-back avoided punishment for a crude challenge on Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, which many feel should have resulted in a red card.
Referee Chris Kavanagh did not even pull out a yellow card, though, and Gallagher – speaking on ‘Ref Watch’ for Sky Sports News (18 December) – was surprised by that decision.
“Has to be more than a free-kick this one doesn’t it? That’s all the ref gave. Has to be more,” he said.
“How far the referee wants to go is up to him but he’s got to sanction him, got to. They (VAR) did (look at it) and they said it wasn’t enough for a red card but what you would say is it has to be more than a free-kick doesn’t it?”
Lucky boy
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage, Daniel Sturridge likened the challenge to something out of WWE and it was an assessment that in all honesty was not too far off, it really was a bit of a nasty one from Coufal.
Having said that, it is not for any Hammers fan to play judge, jury or executioner, it is down to the officials to enforce the decisions, and the Irons have had more than their fair share of poor decisions given against them.
So, it is almost a case of hard luck Wolves, but it is what it is. You win some, you lose some. On this occasion, they lost the decision, and they lost the game comprehensively as the hosts ran out 3-0 winners at the London Stadium.
It has been a very good response to last week’s drubbing against Fulham, with wins over Freiburg and Wolves bringing back the feel-good factor just in time for Santa…even if one early gift has arrived with the decision not to send off Coufal!
In other West Ham news, Mohammed Kudus wanted to play with one Hammers star before signing off on his move.